Hawaii's Supreme Court ruled Monday that insurance companies can't bring their own legal actions against those blamed for Maui's catastrophic 2023 wildfire, allowing a $4 billion settlement that was on the verge of collapse to proceed.

Hawaii’s Supreme Court has ruled that insurance companies can’t bring their own legal actions against those blamed for Maui’s catastrophic 2023 wildfire, the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.

A major roadblock to the $4 billion global settlement for the Maui wildfires has been cleared. A lawyer representing victims says it could mean that survivors receive their first settlement payments by the end of the year.