30 Convictions in 29 Years: But Alleged Maui Bomber was Out on the Streets
What Hawaii can learn from California’s long and bumpy road to ADU stardom
Doomed: Green Begs Insurers not to Appeal Cahill Ruling
CB: … Gov. Josh Green, who had helped work out the settlement, praised Cahill’s ruling and urged the insurance industry attorneys to refrain from delaying a final settlement by appealing the order.
(CLUE: They will appeal.)
“We humbly ask the mainland subrogation attorneys to accept what Judge Cahill has made clear, which is no one should stand in the way of our people’s full recovery,” Green said.
(TRANSLATION: We want you to pay to save HECO from bankruptcy.)
The governor added: “If the subrogation attorneys from the mainland push hard, I will work to beat them in the courts.”…
(CLUE: Insurers will win on appeal. Cahill and Green will be mocked by appellate judges.)
The insurers’ counsel also argued Cahill’s Maui court didn’t have jurisdiction over their subrogation suits, which the insurers had filed in Circuit Court in Honolulu.
Creed argued that under Hawaii law insurers and their customers were bound through a contractual relationship. Accordingly, under legal precedent, Creed said, when a policyholder settles a case and releases the alleged wrongdoers from liability, that binds the insurer from pursuing the case as well. The insurer can then seek reimbursement from the policyholder.
In his oral ruling, Cahill agreed with Creed. Cahill also said his court did have jurisdiction over the matter, at the heart of which is the pending mediated settlement.
While the judge said the insurer’s subrogation claims could not move forward separately, he also indicated the insurers could still seek reimbursement from victims for claims paid. But Cahill made clear that he was not saying how much the insurers might get back from the policyholders.
(CLUE: Instead of suing Hawaiian Electric, insurers are being forced to sue Lahaina Fire victims. This will be appealed and overturned.)
Although the insurers said their claims wouldn’t interfere with the amounts victims would receive under their settlement, Green said that wasn’t true for a simple reason: there’s a finite pool of money the victims can afford to pay.
“There’s $4 billion,” Green said. “And that’s all the state could afford, all the county could afford, all HECO could afford, all KS (Kamehameha Schools) could afford and live to fight another day. The idea that the insurers would not be taking away from the victims is ludicrous. No one buys that argument.”…
(CLUE: All they could afford without bankrupting Hawaiian Electric.)
Green said it’s essential that the insurers give up at least some of their subrogation claims toward a recovery that is expected to cost $14 billion in total.
Under the proposed settlement, Hawaiian Electric Industries will pay $1.99 billion, Kamehameha Schools $872.5 million, and the state about $800 million. Maui County is expected to contribute $10 million. And the rest of the defendants – including Spectrum Oceanic, Charter Communications, Cincinnati Bell, Hawaiian Telcom and several entities affiliated with West Maui Land Co. and Launiupoko Water Co. – will provide the rest, amounting to $300-$400 million.
But Green said those numbers don’t tell the whole story. For example, as part of the settlement Maui County dropped a lawsuit against HECO, which enabled the utility to pledge $1.99 billion by removing an unknown risk. The county also is expected to receive more than $1 billion in federal grants for recovery, which will be used for infrastructure the state otherwise would have to pay for.
(TRANSLATION: This ‘settlement’ is designed to save Hawaiian Electric.)
Kamehameha Schools and the telecommunications companies “had to soul search on the settlement because liability hasn’t been finally established,” Green said. But he said they “feel responsible for the full recovery of the people of Maui (Hawaiian Electric)”
In this context, Green said, it’s important for the insurance industry, whose losses are expected to top $3 billion, “to accept that subrogation suits will devastate those (HE shareholders) who have lost everything (as their HE stock went to zero).”
“If anyone walked(s) away then the whole settlement would collapse and we would be back where we started, years until lawsuits could help people recover, and an unacceptable cost and delay like they have experienced at other disasters,” the governor said.
(CLUE: Insurers are walking away. So Green just admitted the settlement will collapse.)
REALITY: HE stock down 4.6% as of midday trading Aug 14 2024.
REALITY: Full Text: Insurers Will Appeal Fake Maui Settlement Ruling
SA: For the settlement to be finalized, one of two conditions must be met by Oct. 31. One option is for insurance companies to release claims against the parties funding the settlement, which are Hawaiian Electric, the state, Maui County, Kamehameha Schools, West Maui Land Co., Spectrum Oceanic LLC and Hawaiian Telcom. The other option is for the court to order that the only way for insurance companies to recover fire-related claim payments to customers is to assert liens against their policyholders if a policyholder receives more than fair compensation for losses from insurance and settlement proceeds. (TRANSLATION: Sue fire victims.)
read … Maui Judge Clears Path To Final $4.04 Billion Settlement Of Wildfire Cases
Star Adv: Release ATF fire report promptly
Star Adv Editorial: … Missive to Maui County: It is the county’s duty and responsibility to push forward and release details of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) report revealing conclusions about the cause or causes of the Aug. 8, 2023, wildfires in Lahaina and Upcountry Maui….
Maui County and the state are relying on an official fact-finding and determination as to the fire’s “cause and origin” from the ATF, which has done its work and reported its findings to the county. However, Maui County has not set a timetable for releasing an official report…
The slow-rolling of such a vital report, however, is unacceptable.
Our public officials must be expected to reveal truths promptly — especially over such a horrific, large-scale disaster as Lahaina — not conceal or delay the facts unturned. Maui County’s public obligation to transparency requires that the ATF’s report be disclosed now….
The delay in releasing information creates a vacuum that allows for misinformation or misguided conclusions (realism) to metastasize. Fire survivors have speculated (now know) that the current Maui/ATF report is being suppressed because its revelations would hamper acceptance of a $4 billion global settlement of fire-related lawsuits that the state and county seek. Maui County’s lag in releasing details from the report only encourages skepticism and mistrust of government….
Green, has pursued a swifter, more mediated settlement. It starts from the vantage point of determining the highest contributions that Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO), the likely most-liable party, can afford without facing dissolution…
(TRANSLATION: We admit the fake settlement’s purpose is to save HECO from bankruptcy.)
Maui DFPS says the public should stay tuned for a news conference to be called so that the findings can be made public. The ATF’s findings will be attached as an addendum to Maui’s final origin-and-cause report, the county states….
read … Editorial: Release ATF fire report promptly
HART board considers contract for final segment of Skyline and “hypothetical funding source scenarios”
SA: … According to HART, the notice of award will be issued Aug. 23….
During a special HART board of directors meeting Tuesday, the panel discussed the CCGS contract’s procurement in a closed-door executive session but offered few details afterward.
Before the executive session, however, board member Natalie Iwasa questioned the content of the nonpublic meeting scheduled to offer an update on the CCGS contract as well as “hypothetical funding source scenarios” for the project. Iwasa is the panel’s state-appointed, nonvoting member who’s unable to participate in executive sessions, in part, because she’s declined to sign a confidentiality agreement requested by the city.
“And would you please clarify whether those potential funding sources will also be discussed in executive session?” Iwasa asked….
“Our intention is after award (of the CCGS contract), which could be soon, that we would release the recording of the executive session, because the executive session only needs to be confidential for as long as those procurement discussions are ongoing,” Gluck said. “So the intention is not to keep this confidential forever, but only until award.”
Iwasa replied, “OK, so that would include the ‘hypothetical funding scenarios,’ which, to me, I don’t quite understand why that would be confidential at this point…”
Earlier this year, as the rail agency suffered the loss of key personnel — including the abrupt departure in April of HART’s three-year project director Nate Meddings…
read … HART board considers contract for final segment of Skyline
One More Day—A Sign DoJ May Approve Hawaiian-Alaska Air Deal?
VW: … The government now has until August 16th to conclude its review. An additional day means those involved in the negotiations think they’re close – close enough that a deal is possible, and without much more time. It’s unclear what Alaska would be required to give up in order to avoid an anti-trust suit.
It doesn’t mean an agreement will be reached, but it seems a much higher probability than just a day ago when Hawaiian Airlines shares fells as much as 13% before recovering, on the expectation that the likelihood of a deal would decline based on DOJ opposition….
read … DOJ's 24-Hour Extension Hints At Imminent Approval: Alaska-Hawaiian Merger Deal On The Verge
Vegas Beckons: Lahaina emergency housing programs jack up rents islandwide
CB: … High prices offered by emergency housing programs have encouraged property owners to chase the money….
read … Maui Property Owners Are Pushing Tenants Out to House Wildfire Survivors for More Money
Who Needs Collective Bargaining? New health benefit for Kaua‘i workers signed by mayor, union officials
KHON: … Mayor Kawakami first announced the new health care premium proposal in March during his State of the County Address. This initiative aims to address the high cost of living in Kaua‘i, which has driven many to seek opportunities elsewhere.
(Public officials continue trend of just giving stuff to unions.)
With backing from the Kaua‘i County Council, the proposal was included in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget and approved in May.
A special enrollment period was held in July, allowing employees to sign up for the free insurance, which will take effect on September 1, 2024.
This benefit is also available to new county employees….
read … New health benefit for Kaua‘i workers signed by mayor, union officials
Excessive Lawyering Behind High Condo Fees, Insurance Costs
CB: … States like Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Montana, and New Jersey have passed legislation to address and discourage legal system abuses such as lengthier litigation to the detriment of all involved except for the attorneys. The proponents of these consumer protective measures sought to prohibit incentivizing litigants to initiate and prolong lawsuits as more and higher claims drive up insurance premium costs, reduce the availability of coverage, and lead to higher uninsured risks.
Swiss Re Institutes expressed their concern that legal system abuse “is an opaque bottom-up wealth transfer from consumers to sophisticated investors and law firms” ….
read … Emergency Proclamation On Condo Insurance Doesn’t Solve The Problem
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