KIHEI (HawaiiNewsNow) – The owners at Haleakava in Kihei lost their Lahaina location in the fire. They were looking forward to the settlement being over so they can hopefully rebuild in Lahaina. But after an email from their attorney on Tuesday, they are feeling less hopeful.

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Haleakava’s Front Street spot was a gathering place for locals and visitors to connect with their roots and have a great time.

“Something big for me coming from the Tongan culture, mixing with the men and women in the same place,” said owner Kaitlin Diaz. “So, we thought, why not have an open place where anybody can show up? Everyone is welcome to be here. Our kids come here, and I think definitely teaching them a way that our ancestors … a tool that they use to communicate with each other.”

After Kaitlin and her husband, Aaron Diaz’s Front Street business burnt down in the 2023 fire disaster, their Kihei spot ended up being a safe haven for survivors.

“Once we had confirmation that all of Front Street was flattened, we just came here to kind of just be together, have some kava because that’s how we kind refocus and regroup, and when we arrived, our whole parking lot was full of people waiting to come here,” Kaitlin Diaz said, fighting back tears.

They started a GoFundMe page and gave 100-percent of the proceeds to their employees who lost their homes, vehicles and all of their belongings.

Nearly three years later, they were looking forward to some settlement money to rebuild in Lahaina.

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Last Friday, Judge Peter Cahill recently reduced attorneys’ fees so survivors could get more funds from the $4 billion pot.

However, Aaron got an email from his Maui attorney, Jan Apo, who also lost his home in the fire, saying he shares Cahill’s intentions but warns them that some lawyers may be fighting the ruling. Apo warned that could trigger complications to complete the claim process.

The Diaz’s hope attorneys will decide not to delay the much-needed payments any longer.

“We got denied by our insurance. We got denied by FEMA. We got denied by SBA. So, this was like, OK, well at least you know there’s this, and so now it’s like, whoa, come on, another hurdle? So yeah, it’s been a lot,” Aaron said.

The first checks were expected to go out this week. But if an attorney fights Cahill’s ruling, it will be delayed – again.

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