No Bankruptcy? Hawaiian Electric Among Firms in FAILED $4 Billion Maui Fire Deal
(Editor’s Note: The deal had a Friday deadline and has apparently failed. Under the proposed settlement, County and State were picking up enough of the Lahaina fire settlement cost to keep Hawaiian Electric from going bankrupt--but only if insurance companies agreed to take $600M instead of $2B. Of course, the insurers--tagged as 'Mainland Parties' by Green--didn't agree. That is why the deal failed. That is also why the deal was leaked to the press. As intended from the beginning, the goal is to protect HEI--Green calls HEI 'local families'--as a bastion of political and economic power for Hawaii's 'family' of political insiders. Bankruptcy proceedings would transfer control of HEI to lenders, thus stripping local stockholders of everything. Rate hikes are coming next. Now we know why Maui County has been hiding the BATF report on the Lahaina fire.)
from Bloomberg News, July 18, 2024 (excerpt)
… Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. is among the companies that have tentatively agreed to pay more than $4 billion to resolve hundreds of lawsuits over the wildfires that ripped through Maui last year, according to people familiar with the deal.
The proposed accord, which still awaits final approval, would settle suits on behalf of thousands of homeowners and businesses against Hawaiian Electric, which operates the utility on the island, said the people, who declined to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the agreement.
Other defendants covered by the tentative settlement include a unit of cable provider Charter Communications, along with state and local governments. The deal, which has not yet been finalized, could still fall apart.
Hawaiian Electric shares rose 51% in postmarket trading to $19.20 as of 6:58 p.m. in New York….
It’s still unclear how the $4 billion in liability will be divided among the companies and governments, the people said. They noted Hawaiian Electric is on the hook for about $1.5 billion of the settlement, but other companies’ shares are still being finalized. The proposed settlement will be paid out over four years, according to some of the people….
It also remains unknown how much homeowners or business owners will receive in financial recoveries from the proposed settlement.
Insurers are demanding almost $2 billion of the settlement fund as reimbursement for claims they’ve already paid out, the people said. Lawyers for homeowners and business owners have countered with an offer of more than $600 million, they added.
(CLUE: Green refers to insurers as 'Mainland Parties'--the whole plan is predicated on them walking away from $1.4B. They have no incentive to save Hawaii's local political power structure so the settlement plan may, therefore, fail. If HEI has to pay all or part of an additional $1.4B, they would likely go bankrupt.)
The tentative deal was reached earlier this month through court-ordered mediation sessions, the people said. The judge has not yet signed off on the proposal.…
The case is IN RE: Maui Fire Cases, 2CSP-23-0000057, Circuit Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawaii (Wailuku)….
read … Hawaiian Electric Among Firms in $4 Billion Maui Fire Deal
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‘Mainland parties’ (aka Insurance Companies) holding up $4 billion Maui wildfire settlement, Green says
SA July 19, 2024 … An all-encompassing settlement of litigation over the Aug. 8 Maui wildfires remained tentative this morning but is being complicated by the proposed distribution of settlement proceeds.
Gov. Josh Green said in a statement this morning that some mainland parties (TRANSLATION: Insurance Companies) to pending lawsuits against the state, Maui County, Hawaiian Electric, several landowners and other defendants are asking for too much of the settlement, and that he is insisting more go to families affected by the fire that destroyed most of Lahaina.
(IQ Test: Do you believe him?)
“The settlement hasn’t been finalized yet, but we are working on it 24/7 to reach a positive resolution in the very near future,” Green said.
“There are some parties on the mainland that are simply asking for too much of the settlement, resources that I insist must go to families who were devastated by the fire,” Green continued. “I will personally call them out by name next week if they hurt Hawaii’s people or further delay this agreement.” ….
(TRANSLATION: The ‘mainland parties’ are not doing their part to keep HECO out of bankruptcy.)
read … ‘Mainland parties’ holding up $4 billion Maui wildfire settlement, Green says
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CB: The news report comes after weeks of talk of an impending deal, coming out of mediation sessions among parties in Los Angeles in late June. The mediators are Keith Hunter of Honolulu and Louis Meisinger of Los Angeles. Parties to the litigation have until Friday to say whether they will agree to terms of a global settlement proposed by the mediators, sources familiar with the process told Civil Beat. But according to the mediation process, the sources said, the proposed settlement will fall apart unless all parties sign on by the Friday deadline.
Alpha: Hawaiian Electric surges as report says among firms in $4B Maui fire settlement (NYSE:HE) | Seeking Alpha
REUTERS: Hawaiian Electric, others agree to proposed $4 billion Maui wildfire deal, Bloomberg reports By Reuters (investing.com)
BACKGROUND: