U.S. insurance companies has filed a request with the U.S. district court in Hawaii to allow them to subrogate losses related to the Maui wildfires, despite a previous state circuit court ruling preventing carriers from pursuing claims against the settling third parties, according to BestWire.
The insurers argue that the circuit court’s decision violates federal civil procedure rules and undermines their protectable interests.
In August, a tentative $4.04 bn settlement was reached to resolve all lawsuits arising from the wildfires. This agreement, however, also prohibits independent subrogation claims.
The insurers believe this settlement unfairly benefits the defendants and settling plaintiffs by eliminating their legal right to subrogation. On Aug. 26, their attorneys filed a memorandum in the District Court of Hawaii, stating that the settlement allows the parties to “enrich themselves” by excluding the subrogation plaintiffs from the proceeds.
The case is scheduled for a hearing in the U.S. district court on Feb. 2, 2025. In parallel, Judge Peter T. Cahill, who oversaw the settlement, requested the Hawaii Supreme Court to review key questions raised by the agreement.

The high court accepted and has given attorneys 40 days from Sept. 25 to file their opening briefs.
In effect, the proposed settlement represents an agreement between and among the defendants and the settling plaintiffs to enrich themselves by eliminating the subrogation plaintiffs’ legal rights and splitting the proceeds
Vincent Raboteau, liaison counsel for the subrogating insurers, emphasized the importance of upholding insurers’ rights to independent subrogation, calling it the industry standard that safeguards policyholders nationwide.
In his settlement order, Judge Cahill referred to the “Yukumoto v. Tawarahara” decision, which limits insurers’ subrogation rights, allowing reimbursement only as permitted by state law.
We look forward to making our case before the Hawaii Supreme Court about the importance of maintaining insurers’ independent lawful rights to subrogation, which is the industry standard nationally and protects the interests of all policyholders
Vincent Raboteau
The insurers’ attorneys, however, argue that Yukumoto applies to health insurance policies and does not affect personal insurance subrogation, which covers different losses.
Following the settlement announcement, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green urged mainland attorneys to respect Cahill’s ruling and not interfere with the state’s efforts to ensure a full recovery for its people.
In early August 2023, a series of wildfires broke out in the U.S. state of Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui.
The damage caused by the fire has been estimated at nearly $6 bn. In September 2023, the United States Department of Commerce published the official damage total of the wildfires as $5.5 bn (2023 USD).
The wind-driven fires prompted evacuations and caused widespread damage, killing at least 102 people and leaving two persons missing in the town of Lahaina on Maui’s northwest coast.
The proliferation of the wildfires was attributed to dry, gusty conditions created by a strong high-pressure area north of Hawaii and Hurricane Dora to the south.
An emergency declaration was signed on August 8, authorizing several actions, including activation of the Hawaii National Guard, appropriate actions by the director of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency and the Administrator of Emergency Management, and the expenditure of state general revenue funds for relief of conditions created by the fires.
For the Lahaina fire alone, the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimated that over 2,200 buildings had been destroyed, overwhelmingly residential and including many historic landmarks in Lahaina.