LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A potential settlement of eight lawsuits relating to the deadly 2006 Kaloko Dam breach is gaining momentum, according to recent court filings and information from lawyers involved.

But final agreement among all the parties has not been achieved and negotiations continue.

Court documents indicate that parties are aiming for a Sept. 8 hearing before Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe. That was the planned opening date of a wrongful death trial, but that trial has been moved to May 4, 2010.

Watanabe last week approved a request that a "Kaloko Dam Litigation Global Settlement, Release and Indemnification Agreement" could be filed under seal, which would make it inaccessible to the public.

It wasn't clear yesterday whether Watanabe has a tentative settlement agreement in hand, or is awaiting it.

In one court document that calls for the proposed settlement to be attached, there is instead a note that says it "is being revised and supplemented by the parties in ongoing discussions and exchanges of drafts and written proposals, and will be submitted to the court once finalized and executed by all parties and all counsel."

Tom Grande, one of several attorneys representing multiple plaintiffs in wrongful death and property damage lawsuits, said on Saturday that "there is not complete agreement between all parties" and that "when we reach global resolution, there will be an announcement. Until there is complete agreement by all parties it is not final."

Even if all parties reach an agreement, the judge's approval is needed to finalize it.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits include the families of the seven Kaua'i residents killed and landowners whose property was damaged on March 14, 2006, when the Kaloko Dam breach sent 1.4 million tons of water rushing down the normally benign Wailapa Stream.

An independent investigation completed in January 2007 faulted lakeside landowner James Pflueger for burying the dam spillway, a key safety feature. The Godbey Report also laid blame on the state for its lax dam safety program, Kaua'i County for not enforcing its grubbing and grading laws, and Kilauea Irrigation Co. for inadequate maintenance of the farm irrigation system that used water from the Kaloko Reservoir.

Court documents available yesterday showed that the following lawsuit parties had filed petitions saying that a global settlement had been reached in good faith: Pflueger and his companies affected by the lawsuits; adjacent landowner the Mary Lucas Trust and its current and former trustees; Kaua'i County; and Cynthia and Bruce Fehring, who lost a daughter, son-in-law and grandson in the dam breach.

Other defendants in the lawsuits include the state of Hawai'i, in connection with its oversight duties for dam safety and public utilities; the Kilauea Irrigation Co., the entity responsible for maintenance of the water system that included the dam; and a group of companies affiliated with C. Brewer, which sold Pflueger the Kaloko land in the late 1980s.

Attorney Wesley H. Ching — who is representing Pflueger and several of his companies and the Lucas trustees in the civil cases — yesterday said his filing on their behalf "reflects our position," but does not represent the contents of a proposed global settlement.

Ching also confirmed that all parties seeking settlement have agreed to keep the settlement confidential, except whatever disclosure may be required for Kaua'i County and the state.

Pflueger, 83, also faces an April 14 criminal trial on seven manslaughter and one reckless endangering charge in connection with the dam tragedy.