$4 billion global settlement reached for damage from Maui fires, pending court approval

The parties in multiple lawsuits seeking damages for last year’s wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, have reached a $4 billion global settlement.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing on Friday, nearly a year after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in over a century, according to The Associated Press.  

The term sheet spelling out the details of the settlement isn’t yet publicly available, but it seeks to resolve all of the Maui fire damage claims, and it asks the judge to bar the insurers from going after the defendants to recoup any money they have already paid to policyholders.

There are a total of seven defendants agreeing to pay the $4.037 billion compensation. Hawaii's Democratic Gov. Josh Green called it an agreement in principle that would “help our people heal.”

“My priority as governor was to expedite the agreement and to avoid protracted and painful lawsuits so as many resources as possible would go to those affected by the wildfires as quickly as possible,” he said in a statement.

There was an urgency to reach a settlement as Hawaiian Electric, the company many blame for causing the fire, may be on the brink of bankruptcy, according to the AP.