Jan Apo News Today

The state Legislature appears poised to create a new way for Hawaii electric utilities to pay for wildfire risk mitigation that reduces the cost possibly passed onto ratepayers in an effort to help prevent another tragic fire in the state.

While the public awaits Maui County's official report on the cause of the fire, lawyers for victims and insurers say Pole 7A set off a cascade of events that led to a wall of flame.

Hawaii lawmakers are considering a new fee to help HECO's fire-fighting plan but there was strong testimony against it.

Maui attorney, Jan K. Apo, who is representing hundreds of families impacted by the August 2023 Maui wildfires, lauded Monday’s federal court decision to remand some 90 Lahaina fire cases back to the state court on Maui. 

With billions of dollars at stake and the potential for thousands of lawsuits, lawyers are trying to bring order to the chaos of litigation sweeping into Hawaii courts.

The outcome of numerous lawsuits will affect victims, shareholders and, potentially, 470,000 customers statewide.

(Bloomberg) -- The Hawaiian power company in the crosshairs after wildfires ripped through parts of Maui faces a new lawsuit blaming its equipment for starting blazes that claimed more than 100 lives and wreaked billions of dollars in damages. Most Read from BloombergFed Saw ‘Significant’ Inflation Risk That May Merit More HikesGoldman CEO’s Most Loyal Deputy Is Tested by Mutinous PartnersChina Shadow Bank Misses Dozens of Payments as Risks GrowHigh-Potency Pot Market Worth ...