First payment of $1.5 million is disbursed from $175 million One ‘Ohana Fund

Gov. Josh Green announced Friday the first disbursement from the $175 million One ‘Ohana Fund, part of the Maui Wildfires Compensation Program created to provide direct financial relief to families of those who died and people who suffered serious injuries in the August 2023 wildfires.

The first $1.5 million payment has been made to the estate of a wildfire victim, with the remaining wrongful death payments expected to be completed by June.

“We’re very grateful to all the people that have worked hard to continue to help Maui heal and to help those who lost loved ones, lost their homes. It has been an incredible amount of work and incredible amount of suffering, especially for those who lost one of their loved ones,” Green said. “We put together $175 million so that we could disperse $1.5 million to each and every person who lost someone in their family, to expedite it if it was suitable for them.”

Retired Judge Ronald Ibarra, administrator of the MWCP, said the program began accepting claim registrations on March 1, 2024, and closed registration on June 15. In total, 50 wrongful death claims and 21 serious physical injury claims were submitted.

Ibarra said 14 wrongful death claimants did not return their forms for filing. Of the 36 death claim forms submitted, two were deemed ineligible under the program’s protocol, six were closed due to missing follow-up information and two were withdrawn by the claimant or their attorney. This left 26 eligible claims that were offered $1.5 million each. Of those, two claimants withdrew after receiving the offers, and one did not respond, voiding the offer, leaving 23 wrongful death claims.

All 23 wrongful death claimants accepted the settlement offers and met the program’s conditions for payment, which included submitting court orders, appointing a personal representative, providing a distribution plan for beneficiaries, addressing liens, granting permission to participate in the program, signing releases and selecting a method of payment.

In one case a court hearing was held, and the settlement was found to be in good faith.

On March 11, Ibarra said, the first $1.5 million payment was issued to a claimant who represented himself in the program.

“I’m happy to say that after little over a year, when the program rolled out, the first payment of $1.5 million was made to the first debt claimant. The claimant represented himself in the program,” Ibarra said.

Of the 21 serious physical injury claims, two were not approved to file a claim, and forms were sent to 19 others. Seven forms were not returned. Of the 12 submitted, three were deemed ineligible and are under further review.

The $175 million One ‘Ohana Fund is part of a larger $4.037 billion global settlement announced in August to resolve tort claims arising from the wildfires. The fund also will provide payments for nine qualifying serious injury cases still under review. Families who receive One ‘Ohana Fund payments will remain eligible to seek additional compensation from the broader global settlement.

“I know it doesn’t cure the pain, but it will help people move on with their lives as is our hope,” Green said.

The wildfires, which swept through Lahaina and surrounding areas on Aug. 8, 2023, killed 102 people, displaced 12,000 residents, destroyed more than 4,000 properties and caused an estimated $4 billion to $6 billion in property damage.

More than 500 Lahaina-­owned or occupied homes were lost, and nearly 8,000 businesses were affected, making it one of the most devastating disasters in Hawaii’s history.

The global settlement includes contributions from seven defendants — Hawaiian Electric, Kamehameha Schools, the state of Hawaii and several telecommunications companies. Hawaiian Electric agreed to pay $1.99 billion, Kamehameha Schools and the state each pledged $872.5 million and the telecommunications industry committed $300 million.

The state contributed $65 million directly to the One ‘Ohana Fund for initial payments and has pledged a total of $800 million to the global settlement, pending legislative approval. Once approved, a new oversight entity will manage and distribute funds to ensure fairness and transparency. Maui Circuit Court Judge Peter Cahill will oversee resolutions involving claims from subrogation insurers.

Green noted that nearly 65% of wrongful death claimants have represented themselves in the process, which he said reflects efforts to make the program accessible and fair.

In addition to financial relief, the state has outlined several long-term recovery goals, including assisting displaced residents regardless of citizenship status, engaging the community in planning transitional and permanent housing, returning historically recognized lands to the Lahaina community and securing $500 million for infrastructure master-planning to support rebuilding efforts.

“The program is designed to be accessible and efficient so that people who are settling can get their money again without a five-year delay or without losing incredible amounts of its fees,” Green said. “We’re just committed to being fair to people, because we have to heal, and that’s what this is about. We continue to stand with the families and the community and anyone who needs support, and rebuild people’s lives and rebuild Lahaina.”

Phase one of the MWCP, which includes current wrongful death and serious injury claims, is expected to be fully completed by June 30. Afterward, the One ‘Ohana Fund will open for up to 79 additional wrongful death claims, each eligible for $1.5 million.