A woman digs through rubble of a home destroyed by a wildfire, Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. Hawaii increasingly seems under siege from disasters, and what is increasing most is wildfire, according to an analysis of Federal Emergency Management Agency records by The Associated Press. There were as many federally-declared disaster wildfires this month in Hawaii, as in the 50 years between 1953 and 2003. Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP As Lawsuits Mount Over Maui Wildfires, Hawaiian Electric Hints at Defenses
In an Aug. 18 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Hawaiian Electric drew distinctions between laws in California versus Hawaii and explained why it didn't shut off power during the wildfires.
August 21, 2023 at 05:24 PM
4 minute read
Hawaiian Electric Co. hasn't responded in court to growing lawsuits filed against it over this month's deadly wildfires in Maui, but initial defenses could focus on striking inverse condemnation claims and whether its downed power lines actually caused the fire.
On Aug. 17, Joachim Cox and Randall Whattoff, both partners at Honolulu's Cox Fricke, appeared for Hawaii Electric in a class action filed in O'ahu's First Circuit Court. On Aug. 18, Hawaiian Electric told investors in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that, despite initial news reports, it had no plans to restructure but would "be here for the long term."
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