What to know about what's tying up a $4B settlement for Hawaii wildfire victims

abcnews.go.com:

The Hawaii Supreme Court is scheduled to hear about insurance issues tying up a potential $4 billion Maui wild fire settlement

HONOLULU — Hawaii's Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Thursday over insurance issues that are tying up a potential $4 billion settlement over Maui's catastrophic 2023 wildfire, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

The massive inferno decimated the historic town of Lahaina, killing more than 100 people, destroying thousands of properties and causing an estimated $5.5 billion in damage. Soon afterward, attorneys began lodging hundreds of lawsuits.

A settlement was announced last summer, but insurance companies held out, insisting that they should have the right to go after the defendants separately to recoup money paid out to policyholders.

Here are things to know about the settlement and the issues that could thwart the deal:

A few days before the one-year anniversary of the Aug. 8, 2023, fire, Gov. Josh Green announced that seven defendants accused of causing the tragedy had agreed to pay $4 billion to resolve claims by thousands of people.

Attorneys representing the individual plaintiffs agreed to the deal amid fears that main defendant Hawaiian Electric, the power company blamed for sparking the blaze, could be on the brink of bankruptcy. Other defendants include the state, Maui County and Kamehameha Schools, the largest private landowner in Hawaii.

Victims' attorneys acknowledged that $4 billion wasn't enough to make up for what was lost but said the deal was worth accepting, given Hawaiian Electric's limited assets.

Attorneys for the victims asked Judge Peter Cahill to bar insurance companies from going after the defendants separately to recoup money — a requirement that