Hawaiian Electric Co. facing class-action lawsuit over Maui fire

Hawaiian Electric is facing a class-action lawsuit that alleges the utility company kept power on despite high wind warnings ahead of last week’s wildfires that are responsible for the deaths of nearly 100 people. 

The class-action lawsuit cites the utility's own documents showing it was aware that preemptive power shutoffs were an effective strategy to prevent wildfires but never adopted them.

"Mass disasters like this one are tailor-made for class actions, which center on obtaining relief for the most victims possible," said attorney and law lecturer Daniel Karon.

"Class actions are appropriate when proving the plaintiff’s case proves everyone else’s case. So, where the same fire caused by the same carelessness – Hawaiian Electric’s – injured everyone in the same way, a class action should work, never mind that the amounts by which people were damaged differs. What matters is that Hawaiian Electric’s carelessness was the uniform cause," Karon said.

Hawaiian Electric declined to comment on the accusations in the lawsuit or whether it has ever shut down power before due to high winds. 

"Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible," a company spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement. 

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"At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined and will work with the state and county as they conduct their review."

President and CEO Shelee Kimura noted at a news conference Monday that many factors go into a decision to shut down power, including the possible effect on people who rely on specialized medical equipment and firefighters who need power to pump water.

"Even in places where this has been used, it is controversial, and it's not universally accepted," she said.

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier also expressed frustration at the news conference that people were complaining both that power was not cut off earlier and that too many people were unaccounted for because of a lack of cellphone and internet service.

"Do you want notifications or do you want the power shut off?" he said. "You don't get it both ways."

In Maui, the National Weather Service first began alerting the public about dangerous fire conditions on Aug. 3. Forecasters issued a "red flag warning" on Aug. 7, alerting that the combination of high winds and drought conditions would create ideal conditions for fire.

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Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez announced last week that she opened "a comprehensive review of critical decision-making and standing policies leading up to, during and after the wildfires."

Hawaiian Electric's Kimura said the company had started its own investigation. Its shares have plummeted by 60% over the last week on fears the company may have to pay big damages.

The official death toll in Hawaii’s wildfires has risen to 99, making it the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, and it is expected to increase. 

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Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said damages were estimated to be at around $6 billion. 

"It’s going to take a great deal of time to recovery from this, but we have the support of every level of government, especially given President Biden’s approval of our disaster request." 

The Associated Press and TMX contributed to this report.