There is no climate change settlement involving Reed Hayes. Reed Hayes is a forensic document examiner in Honolulu whose work concerns handwriting, signatures, and questioned documents, not environmental law. The search likely conflates him with Hayes v. Bernhardt, a federal environmental case brought by a different Hayes, which has not settled.
Who Reed Hayes Is
Reed C. Hayes is a certified document examiner and court-qualified handwriting analyst based in Honolulu, with more than four decades in the field. He graduated from the Andrew Bradley Training Course in Forensic Document Examination, has been certified by the National Association of Document Examiners with re-certifications from 2005 through 2021, and sits on the board of the Scientific Association of Forensic Examiners.1SAFE Forensics. 2024 June SAFE Educational Seminar
His casework centers on signatures, anonymous letters, document alterations, erasures, indented writing, and typewriting analysis.2LexVisio. Reed C. Hayes, CDE Reported engagements include expert testimony contributing to a jury acquittal in State of Hawaii v. Otsuka and analysis in US Bank v. Gordon that helped a 97-year-old defendant keep title to her home through settlement.3Reed Hayes. Reed Hayes Handwriting and Document Examiner None of his known work touches climate change, environmental regulation, or emissions liability.
The Case People Confuse This With: Hayes v. Bernhardt
Hayes v. Bernhardt (Case No. 4:16-cv-00615) was filed in 2016 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The plaintiff, a landowner, sued the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, alleging it failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act when approving oil and gas leases and drilling permits affecting his property. The mineral rights were held by the Osage Nation.
Climate change surfaced only in a standing analysis. In a November 2020 order denying the non-federal defendants’ motion to dismiss, the court found the plaintiff had alleged multiple ways his property could be harmed, “including by further contribution to climate change.”4Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Hayes v. Bernhardt The claims are grounded in NEPA and the Administrative Procedure Act, not the kind of broad climate liability theory that has produced headline settlements.
There is no public record of a settlement. The most recent available development is the denial of the motion to dismiss, which let the suit proceed.5Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Hayes v. Bernhardt Case Document And the plaintiff is not Reed Hayes.
Where Actual Climate Settlements Have Landed Recently
If you’re looking for real climate-related settlements, several were finalized in early 2026, none involving anyone named Reed or Hayes. In February 2026, The Vanguard Group agreed to a $29.5 million settlement with state plaintiffs over antitrust allegations tied to coal holdings in Texas v. BlackRock, Inc. The same month, a federal court finalized a settlement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and plaintiffs who had challenged the removal of climate change data from USDA websites.6Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Climate Litigation Updates