Who caused Maui’s devastating wildfire? Lawsuit adds telecom companies and landowners to the list
By Andy Rose, CNN
(CNN) — Attorneys who filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Hawaiian Electric, accusing the utility company of causing the devastating Lahaina wildfire in Maui, are asking a judge to let them expand the suit to include telecommunications companies along with private and public landowners.
The Hawaiian wildfires, which began on August 8, killed more than 100 people and burned over 2,000 acres in Lahaina, as well as hundreds of acres in Kula and Olinda on the island of Maui. The resulting destruction of homes, businesses, infrastructure and loss of tourism may result in up to $6 billion in economic losses, according to an estimate from Moody’s.
A motion from the plaintiff’s attorneys says they want “to bring similar claims against additional defendants for their own conduct that caused and/or contributed to the fire.”
Currently there are dozens of named plaintiffs, but the law firm of LippSmith LLP is asking for it to be given class-action status to cover everyone affected by Lahaina Fire damages.
The original suit claimed Hawaiian Electric was to blame for the fire, because it did not deenergize power lines that were knocked down by high winds. Now, plaintiffs say that the cable TV provider Charter Communications and telephone company Hawaiian Telecom also contributed to the danger, alleging they “overloaded at least some of the power poles, destabilizing them,” making the wooden poles more likely to snap.
The amended lawsuit also says some private and public landholders were negligent for allowing “highly flammable” vegetation on their properties, contributing to the rapid spread of the fire.
Attorney Graham LippSmith told CNN the proposed new defendants were added after the legal team got its first opportunity to examine the damaged power poles that have been stored as evidence. “Our team has been working around the clock to investigate the cause of the fire and its explosive spread,” he said. The court would need to approve adding the additional defendants.
CNN reached out to Charter and Hawaii Telecom for comment. Hawaiian Electric previously said it does not comment on pending litigation. None of the named defendants has yet filed a response to the lawsuit in court.
Hawaiian Electric has said that power lines falling in high winds seem to have caused a fire during the early morning of August 8, but power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours by the time a second afternoon fire began in the Lahaina area.
The company claimed “all lines to Lahaina remained de-energized and all power in the area remained off” before the fire started in that area.
Shares of Hawaiian Electric have plunged 67% since the fires erupted August 8. Charter’s stock was unchanged in premarket trading Thursday. Hawaiian Telecom is privately owned.
Maui County filed a separate lawsuit late last month against Hawaiian Electric and its subsidiaries, alleging that the utility company’s negligence caused the devastating wildfires. The lawsuit alleges that the electric company “inexcusably kept their power lines energized” in early August, despite the fact that the National Weather Service issued a High Wind Watch and a Fire Warning.
Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura said in a statement following Maui’s lawsuit that the company believes the complaint is factually and legally irresponsible.”
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