Hawaii Supreme Court Upholds $222 Million Lawyer Fund in Maui Wildfire Settlement
On Wednesday, Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled that a $222 million Common Benefit Fund for lawyers working on the Maui wildfire settlement will stay in place. The decision follows a three‑year legal battle after the 2023 Lahaina fire that killed 102 people.
The court affirmed most of a lower‑court plan that set a tiered fee schedule and created a review board to allocate the fund. It rejected three provisions that would have made fee‑award decisions final and unappealable, and that would have frozen any attorney’s future payments while an appeal was pending.
Why the Fund Exists
Second Circuit Judge Peter Cahill designed the fund to compensate lawyers whose work helped secure the $4.037 billion settlement for wildfire victims. The “common‑fund doctrine” allows a court to pay legal fees from a shared pool when the work benefits all claimants.
Source: Courthouse News Service
Challenges and Court Reasoning
Claimant Michael Bates and attorneys Anthony Ranken, Alex Edrenkin and John Thickstun argued the fund was void because the special proceeding overseeing the cases had ended. The Supreme Court found the proceeding never formally closed, so the judge retained authority over the settlement. It also held the fund does not take money from clients for lawyers they never hired.
What Changed
The justices struck down three anti‑appeal provisions, allowing attorneys to contest fee awards without losing their payments. The rest of the order, including the fee cap and the board’s role, remains unchanged, and any withheld payments must be released.
Practical Impact for Affected Parties
Lawyers who receive a portion of the $222 million can now appeal fee decisions without risking a freeze on future earnings. The review board, chaired by retired Associate Justice James Duffy, will continue evaluating applications for a share of the fund. Claimants are not directly affected by this ruling, but the decision preserves the mechanism that funded the attorneys who represented them.
Anyone seeking a fee award above the standard cap must follow the ordinary appeal process, and attorneys challenging board awards can seek review in Judge Cahill’s court.
While the ruling does not change the settlement amount for wildfire victims, it clarifies how legal fees are handled and ensures attorneys can protect their rights to appeal.
Anyone involved in the settlement or considering legal representation for similar disasters may want to consult a lawyer to understand how fee structures and appeal rights could affect their case.
What this means: our conclusions
- Good newsLawyers retain right to appeal fee awards
The decision restores attorneys’ ability to challenge fee allocations, protecting their earnings and ensuring oversight of the fund.
- Good newsFund remains available for qualifying attorneys
The $222 M pool stays in place, so lawyers who helped secure the settlement will continue to receive compensation.
- What to watchPotential impact on future disaster settlements
Other states may look to Hawaii’s approach when designing lawyer‑fee funds for large‑scale settlements.
- ContextClaimants’ settlement amounts unchanged
The ruling does not affect the $4.037 billion paid to wildfire victims, but it clarifies how attorney fees are funded.
- What to watchWatch for review board decisions
Attorneys will continue to apply for shares of the fund, and the board’s allocations may set precedents for future cases.
| Provision | Status |
|---|---|
| Anti‑appeal clause (final award) | Struck down |
| Freeze on payments during appeal | Struck down |
| Fee schedule and review board | Remains intact |
Source: Courthouse News Service
This article is general information based on Courthouse News Service and court or agency records available at publication time. It is not legal advice; laws and deadlines differ by state and by case. Published October 2, 2026.
Source: Courthouse News Service
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