Maui Wildfire Assistance (Advertising)

Obtaining Justice for Maui Wildfire Victims

Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher understands the profound pain, loss and devastation the Maui wildfires have brought upon families and businesses in the Lahaina and Maui communities.  

The Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher Ohana has strong ties to people and businesses who call Maui home, and has contributed $50,000 to the Common Ground Collective. The organization surged into action when the island’s Salvation Army kitchen burned down, and with the help of the University of Hawaii Maui College, its kitchen and staff, provided upwards of 10,000 meals a day.

Our law firm’s powerhouse team of top trial stars - rated among the best in Hawaii - will fiercely pursue justice for those who have been damaged by these tragic fires, whether from death of loved ones, burn injuries, loss or interruption of business, or damage to property.   

Catastrophic wildfire litigation, like this, is complex, usually spans years, involves a tremendous amount of legal and expert resources, and requires specialized knowledge and expertise.

Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher is fortunate to partner on the wildfire cases with two other powerhouse law firms from the West Coast who successfully tried one of the Pacific Coast’s major wildfire cases against the regional utility company: Stoll Berne PC and Keller Rohrback LLP.  

The Starn O’Toole/Stoll Berne/Keller Rohrback Maui Wildfire Trial Teams

Our trial teams handling the Maui wildfire litigation will be drawn from these three firms and the teams will be tailored to the types of claims.

Here, one size does not fit all: complex business loss and property damage litigation is very different from bodily injury and wrongful death litigation, even though the genesis of the damages arises from the Maui wildfire and its causative factors.      

• Complex Business Loss/Business Interruption & Property Damage Litigation: To prosecute and be successful on these claims requires a team of highly skilled and experienced commercial trial lawyers who team with top notch experts in the fields of business and property valuations, forensic accounting and other disciplines. Because the issues can be multi-faceted and complex, the trial team must be able to present the case forcefully and simply to a jury. These three firms specialize in complex matters and have demonstrated success in statewide, regional and national high-profile cases.      
  
  
  • Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher - one of only a few Hawaii firms ranked in the top tier for complex commercial litigation; a go-to trial firm for Fortune 500 companies, including national hotel and hospitality companies, money-center financial institutions, as well as Hawaii’s top businesses. Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher's senior litigators are ranked as among the best in Hawaii. Chambers and Partners ranks the firm’s trial lawyers at the top and ranks the firm’s senior trial lawyer, Terence J. O’Toole, as a “Star” – only one of two in Hawaii.
    
    Major complex litigation matters handled by the firm in the Maui courts, where the wildfire litigation will largely take place, include:
    
    -Six months of rolling jury trials representing almost 70 plaintiffs, involving $100 million in claims arising out of large-scale West Maui residential development.
    
    -Multi-month jury trial successfully defending one of Hawaii’s major banks.
    
    
• Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Litigation: Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher's  power-house trial team includes one of Hawaii’s top personal injury, plaintiffs’ class action, and mass tort attorneys, Judith Pavey.  Ms. Pavey has extensive Hawaii trial experience recovering multi-million-dollar damages for personal injury, property damage and economic losses including:
  
  
  • Claims on behalf of Big Island dairy farmers for damages caused by chemical contamination;
  • Claims by flower and palm growers against DuPont for damages caused by chemical contamination;
  • Claims of Hawaii vehicle owners against Volkswagon for false emission claims;
  • Claims arising from the Hepatitis A outbreak involving Genki Sushi restaurants
    
    
• Stoll Berne PC and Keller Rohrback LLP  have proven track records of achieving extraordinary results in successfully representing victims of four wildfires against electric utility companies Pacificorp and Pacific Power recovering a jury verdict in June 2023 finding the utility companies grossly negligent and liable to all fire victims and awarding more than $80 million to the first 17 claimants, with total damages for all victims estimated by the utility companies in the billions of dollars. 

LATEST NEWS REGARDING DAMAGES IN OREGON WILDFIRE CASES

$42M Award to Oregon Wildfire Victims. Stoll Berne PC and KellerRohrback LLP, announced. "A third jury in Portland, Oregon has awarded more than $42 million in compensation to ten survivors of the wildfires on Labor Day 2020. The total award to the ten plaintiffs is $42,412,119.00, consisting of $5.933 million in economic damages (which are doubled) and $23.25 million in non-economic damages, both of which are increased by 25% for punitive damages." Click for more details.

Oregon jury awards additional $42M to wildfire victims. Honolulu Star Advertiser, March 6, 2024.  

OR wildfires:  PacifiCorp ordered to pay $42 million to Labor Day Fire victims. Koin.com, March 5, 2024.

PacifiCorp ordered to pay Oregon wildfire victims another $42M. Final bill could reach billions. KPTV.com, March 6, 2024.

Jury hits PacificCorp with latest wildfire verdicct, this one for $29 million. oregonlive.com, March 5, 2024.

Oregon Claimants Awarded $85 Million "...a jury in Portland, Oregon awarded $85 million in compensation from PacificCorp to nine survivors of the fires that swept across Oregon on Labor Day 2020. The verdict, which consisted of more than $6 million in economic and $56 million in non- economic damages, translates to an award of more than $85 million after the doubling of economic damages and the addition of punitive damages of 25% that are automatically applied given the jury’s verdict in the first phase of the case. This verdict is the first trial exclusively on individuals’ damages after a historic class action verdict last year that established that PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, was liable to the entire class for causing the devastating fires. It is the second jury verdict awarding damages to injured class members, and maintains a trajectory which, according to PacifiCorp, represents more than $25 billion in total damages to the class." Source: Press release issued by Stoll Berne PC and Keller Rohrback LLP.

Click here: Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher's Doug Chin, Commentary aired on Hawaii News Now, January 25, 2024.

Connect With Us:

If you are a survivor of the devastating wildfires that have affected Maui, we encourage you to reach out to Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher. Our collaborative team, alongside Keller Rohrback LLP and Stoll Berne PC, is here to listen, understand, and advocate on your behalf. Together, we embark on a journey toward the justice your loved ones, your community, and your Maui deserve.

Maui Wildfire Assistance Form