A $4 billion settlement for victims of the Maui wildfires is in limbo a year and a half later, as insurance companies say they’ve been unfairly villainized

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.

Source: FORTUNE