A lawyer representing Xcel Energy told a Boulder County District Court judge this week that the utility has executed or reached settlements with more than 2,000 plaintiffs in the lawsuit over the 2021 Marshall Fire.
More than 4,000 plaintiffs filed claims alleging that Xcel was responsible for one of two fires that merged on Dec. 30, 2021. Fueled by winds exceeding 100 miles per hour and extreme drought conditions, the fire killed two people and destroyed or damaged about 1,000 homes and other structures. The plaintiffs include individuals, insurers and public entities.
In September, Xcel and two telecommunications companies agreed to pay $640 million to settle lawsuits related to the disaster. Kevin Orsini, an attorney with a New York firm representing Xcel, told the court that remaining settlement agreements with insurers and public entities are nearly finalized. He said “fewer than a half dozen individual plaintiffs” have not yet agreed to settlement terms.
Orsini said that they are trying to finalize the agreements and distribute funds by the end of the year.
One procedural issue still pending is how to resolve roughly 600 claims involving minors, which require court approval under Rule 62 of Colorado’s Probate Rules to determine whether the settlements are reasonable.
Because some plaintiffs have yet to settle, the case could still proceed to a narrower trial involving a limited number of claims. The parties are scheduled to update the court on Jan. 13, 2026.