Lahaina Wildfire Plaintiffs Who Sued Spectrum File Notice of 2 Related Cases

The 38 plaintiffs seeking to hold Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom, among dozens of named landowner, state, municipality and utility defendants, liable for negligence that caused the Aug. 8 Lahaina wildfire (see 2311150004) filed a Local Rule 40.2 notice Wednesday (docket 1:23-cv-00459) with the U.S. District Court for Hawaii of two related federal class actions pending in the District of Hawaii. Neither of the two related cases names the telecommunications companies as co-defendants. One of the two related cases, Naki v. State of Hawaii et al (docket 1:23-cv-00435), was removed Oct. 25 to federal court by a group of six landowner defendants. It doesn’t name Spectrum, Hawaiian Telcom, nor any of the electric utilities that were named co-defendants in the case, Eder et al v. Maui Electric Co. et al, that Spectrum removed to federal court Tuesday. The 38 named plaintiffs in Eder allege that the utilities were negligent in not replacing their dilapidated wooden poles. They also seek to hold Spectrum and Hawaiian Telcom liable for overloading the poles with telecommunications equipment that further destabilized the poles amid the National Weather Service’s high-wind warning. They allege the Lahaina wildfire was sparked when one of the poles snapped under the heavy weight of the telecommunications equipment. The second related class action, Burnes et al v. Hawaiian Electric (docket 1:23-cv-00452), does name four electric utilities as co-defendants as does Eder, but not the telecommunications companies. The same six landowner defendants that removed Naki to federal court Oct. 25 also removed Burnes on Nov. 6. The three class actions are related because they all bring class claims arising from the Lahaina wildfire on Aug. 8, said the plaintiffs' notice: “The allegations of each case all stem from the same incident and involve common facts.” All three cases are brought on behalf of putative classes “who have suffered property and economic loss and bring claims for negligence and nuisance against common defendants,” said the plaintiffs’ notice. Each case “presents allegations as to the defendants’ failures to act in the best interest of public safety and common issues as to causation, liability, and damages” arising from the “deadly” Lahaina wildfire, it said. The wildfire killed more than 100 and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.