Class-action lawsuits will be firmly in the cultural zeitgeist for the foreseeable future after Hawaiian power companies were accused of ignoring weather warnings amid the historic Maui wildfires, according to legal guru Danny Karon.
"Class actions are critical to a properly functioning society," Karon told Fox News Digital.
Karon, an attorney and law professor who specializes in class-action litigation, feels that mass disasters like the devastating Maui fires are tailor-made for class actions to provide relief for victims.
HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. FACING CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT OVER MAUI FIRE
The main plaintiffs, Monica and Rede Eder, own a house in the historic town of Lahaina, which was decimated by the wildfire. Their suit is "on behalf of a class and subclasses of all persons similarly situated."
"It didn't just victimize a couple of people like the three plaintiffs who filed it, but rather thousands and thousands of people across Hawaii. And that's the nature of a class action," Karon said.
"You see, a class action is intended to create a claim and recovery, not just for the people who filed it, but for all these other folks who haven't," he continued. "They're called absent-class members, meaning people who didn't want to step up, didn't have the time, the money, the temperament, the whatever to make a federal case out of something."
The suit targets Hawaiian Electric Industries, which is the parent company of HECO, MECO and HELCO. The lawsuit accuses the power companies of ignoring weather warnings and keeping their power lines energized despite the dangerous conditions. The plaintiffs say the companies "inexcusably kept their power lines energized during forecasted high fire danger conditions."
Karon said the rules allow other victims to be "swept into" the case brought by others as long as certain elements are satisfied.
"You see, you can't just file a case and say, ‘I'm going to make it a class action.’ No. The federal rules of civil procedure, meaning the rules of court, require you to prove a number of elements or steps to a court satisfaction before the judge will flip the switch and turn an individual case… into a class action case. And it's pretty darn tough. People think, 'oh, I'm going to make a class action of it.’ Not so fast," Karon said.
Karon believes the widespread property damage, horrific death toll and even business-interrupted claims make the wildfire victims ripe for mass relief.
"You’ve got a lot of people dipping into the single bucket that is Hawaiian Electric looking to get paid, and I wonder whether the company has that much money that they can satisfy all these obligations," Karon said.
HAWAIIAN COUPLE SUING POWER COMPANIES OVER LAHAINA DESTRUCTION AMID HISTORIC MAUI WILDFIRES
According to the suit, the National Weather Service had issued a High Wind Watch and Red Flag Warning, cautioning that energized power lines could make a fire develop more rapidly.
The suit alleges that by acting improperly during the historically dangerous conditions, the companies "caused loss of life, serious injuries, destruction of hundreds of homes and businesses, displacement of thousands of people, and damage to many of Hawaii’s historic and cultural sites."
"Scores of people burned to death," the suit says. "Other victims suffered severe burns, smoke inhalation and additional serious injuries."
Karon feels that if the "facts are as alleged" and Hawaiian Electric truly ignored warning signs, then trouble is on the horizon for the power company. Investors have taken notice, as shares have plummeted by 60% over the last week on fears the company may have to pay big damages.
"It sure seems like on that set of facts, a set of facts that uniformly affects everybody, which is really the hallmark of the class action, kind of a one size fits all approach. If that fact is true, then, you know, it seems like a pretty darn good candidate for a class action," Karon said.
"And if I'm Hawaiian Electric, I want to settle this thing and get the heck out of there as fast as I can, not just because it's good for business, but because it's good for my customers, it's good for people, it's good for humanity," Karon continued. "It's what we should do for each other."
In a statement to Fox News, Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Jim Kelley said, "As has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation. Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible. At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined, and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review."
Hawaiian Electric 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.
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Fox News’ Andrea Vacciano, Bradford Betz and Lee Ross contributed to this report.
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