Supreme Court of Hawaii Decisions 2018
Date: December 28, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000529
Date: December 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000284
Date: December 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000114
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the propriety of State and local agencies withholding certain officer communications when disclosure is requested by a member of the public, the Supreme Court vacated the grant of summary…
Date: December 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000067
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s conviction and remanded this case to the district court, holding that Defendant’s right of allocution was violated when the district court did not afford him the opportunity to be…
Date: December 20, 2018
Docket Number: SCPW-18-0000733
Justia Opinion Summary: In this opinion, the Supreme Court elaborated as to its reason declaring invalid the ballot question authored by the state legislature that would approve an amendment granting the State the authority to impose a…
Date: December 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000184
Date: December 13, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000873
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) and the district court’s notice of entry of judgment convicting Defendant of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant…
Date: December 12, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001138
Date: December 10, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000184
Justia Opinion Summary: In this water use case, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the State of Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management (Commission) concluding that Appellants waived the right to proceed on the contested case,…
Date: December 5, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000663
Date: November 30, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000777
Date: November 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000777
Date: November 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000812
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000663
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court’s order and granting summary judgment for Defendant in this case arising out of the uncompleted sale of one…
Date: November 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000343
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the intermediate court of appeals’ (ICA) affirming the circuit court’s “Order Denying Application of Surety Providing Good Cause as to Why Execution Should Not Issue as to…
Date: November 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000482
Date: November 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000777 (CDUA) HA-3568 for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (Dissenting Opinion by Wilson, J.).S.Ct. Order Dismissing Appeal for Non-Payment of Filing Fee, filed 01/04/2018 [ada]. Temple of Lono’s Motion to SetAside Dismissal for Non-Payment of Filing Fees, filed 01/08/2018.S.Ct.Order Granting Motion to Set Aside Dismissal for Non-Payment of Filing Fee, filed 01/12/2018 [ada].Consolidated with Case Nos. SCOT-17-0000811 and SCOT-17-0000812. S.Ct. Opinion, filed 10/30/2018 [ada].Opinion Concurring in Part and Concurring in the Judgment by Pollack, J., in which Wilson, J., Joins as to Parts I-III [ada]. Notice [ada].S.Ct. Order of Correction, filed 11/05/2018 [ada]. Board of Land and Natural Resources
Date: November 8, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000150
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeals’ (ICA) judgment on appeal and remanded to the circuit court to hold a Hawai’i Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 40 evidentiary hearing on Petitioner’s claim…
Date: November 7, 2018
Docket Number: SCAD-10-0000226
Date: November 7, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-18-0000789
Date: November 7, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-12-0000711
Date: November 5, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000777
Date: November 2, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000914
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming judgment in favor of Defendants, holding that Plaintiff was subjected to unlawful pretrial punishment when he was held in…
Date: October 30, 2018
Docket Numbers: SCOT-17-0000777, SCOT-17-0000811, SCOT-17-0000812 (CDUA) HA-3568 for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the Mauna Kea Science Reserve (Opinion of the Court by McKenna, J., in which Pollack, J., Joins Except as to Part V.C.1) Opinion Concurring in Part and Concurring in the Judgment by Pollack, J., in which Wilson, J., Joins as to Parts I-III [ada]. Board of Land and Natural Resources
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) authorizing issuance of a Conservation District Use permit (CDUP) for a Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) near the summit of Mauna Kea,…
Date: October 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000865
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the district court’s order dismissing with prejudice Petitioners’ charges of one count of prostitution under Haw. Rev. Stat.…
Date: October 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000005
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court expressly rejected the Twombly/Iqbal “plausibility” pleading standard in this case and reaffirmed that in Hawai’i state courts, the traditional “notice” pleading standard governs. On the first appeal…
Date: October 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000146
Date: October 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000784
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the time to file a motion to vacate an arbitration award is limited by the opposing party’s filing of a motion to confirm and how an order denying a motion to vacate an arbitration award can properly…
Date: October 4, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000837
Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over the parentage of a child, the Supreme Court held that both the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA) and Hawaii’s Marriage Equality Act demonstrate that the UPA’s marital presumption of paternity applies…
Date: October 4, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001137
Date: September 18, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-18-0000578
Date: September 17, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001137
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue on appeal was whether a motion for sanctions may be dismissed without prejudice when the underlying facts and issues allegedly establishing the sanctionable conduct are also at issue in another pending case…
Date: September 7, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000655
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgments of the Intermediate Court of Appeals and circuit court finding that Defendant was the first aggressor in a late-night confrontation and the subsequent denial of Defendant’s request…
Date: September 5, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000006
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) concluding that the circuit court erred in granting Defendant’s motion to dismiss his charge of theft as a continuing course of conduct…
Date: August 31, 2018
Docket Number: SCEC-18-0000654
Justia Opinion Summary: In this election contest, the Supreme Court dismissed Plaintiffs’ second amended complaint against Romy Cachola, one of two Democratic Party candidates for the Office of State Representative, and Chief Election Officer…
Date: August 31, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000391
Justia Opinion Summary: In this constitutional speedy trial challenge, the Supreme Court remanded the case for dismissal with or without prejudice as the trial court determines to be appropriate under the court rules and set forth applicable…
Date: August 31, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000841
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacate the circuit court’s order denying Petitioner’s petition for postconviction relief, holding that credible testimony during Petitioner’s postconviction hearing clearly indicated that an arrangement…
Date: August 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCEC-18-0000639
Justia Opinion Summary: In this primary election challenge, the Supreme Court ordered that the name of David Y. Ige be placed on the ballot as the Democratic Party candidate for the Office of Governor for the 2018 general election, holding that…
Date: August 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCEC-18-0000650
Justia Opinion Summary: In this election contest, the Supreme Court entered judgment in favor of Defendants ordering that the name of David Y. Ige be placed on the ballot as the Democratic Party candidate for the Office of Governor for the 2018…
Date: August 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000355
Date: August 8, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) was not required to hold a contested case hearing prior to consenting to a sublease that the University of Hawai’i intended to enter into with…
Date: July 30, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000539
Justia Opinion Summary: In this custody dispute, the Supreme Court held that the family court erred in not holding a further hearing to ascertain whether W.N. was presently a fit and proper person as required to establish a prima facie…
Date: July 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000482
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the tax court erred in determining that the timeliness of an appeal of real property tax assessments was determined by county ordinance and not state law. Appellant filed a notice of appeal…
Date: July 18, 2018
Citation: 141 Haw. 501
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000334
Date: June 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-14-0000935
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated in part the circuit court’s judgment, guilty conviction, and sentence, holding that Defendant’s extended sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole violated the ex post…
Date: June 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-11-0000594
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) and reinstated the circuit court’s grant of partial summary…
Date: June 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000531
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held in this criminal case that pursuant to its recent decision in Flubacher v. State, 414 P.3d 161 (Haw. 2018), Petitioner was entitled to relief under Hawai’i Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule…
Date: June 28, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000337
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Appellant’s extended term sentence was imposed in an illegal manner and, accordingly, vacated the circuit court’s order denying Appellant’s motion for correction of illegal sentence with…
Date: June 28, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000639
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the family court’s order in this Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 587A Child Protective Act (CPA) proceeding arising from the death of Parents’ three-year-old child, FG, who died while in foster…
Date: June 28, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0001579
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether an unwritten policy of the Department of Public Safety precluding from promotion to supervisory positions all employees who have been suspended for violation of the Department’s standards of conduct…
Date: June 28, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000428
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether the Intermediate Court of Appeals’ (ICA) judgment on appeal, entered pursuant to its memorandum opinion affirming the circuit court’s order granting in part and denying in part Appellant’s petition…
Date: June 27, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001352
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court’s grant of summary judgment for Respondent as to all counts in Petitioner’s…
Date: June 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0000133
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue was whether a certificate of title was entered when a deed was accepted by the Office of the Assistant Registrar of the Land Court and stamped with a new certificate of title number. Plaintiff-mortgagor brought…
Date: June 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0003629
Date: June 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001033
Date: June 8, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000842
Justia Opinion Summary: Haw. Rev. Stat. 386-8, which governs a third party’s liability for workers’ compensation, provides the exclusive remedy for an employer to recover workers’ compensation benefits from a third-party tortfeasor. An…
Date: June 8, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000470
Date: June 5, 2018
Docket Number: SCPW-17-0000927
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case regarding Petitioner’s request to access judicial records and documents related to a circuit court criminal proceeding, the Supreme Court ordered that the circuit court unseal the documents and that…
Date: June 4, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0003629
Date: May 30, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0002043
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the circuit court refusing to accept Tracy Souza’s offer to stipulate to his prior felony conviction, which constituted an element of an offense with which he was charged. Souza…
Date: May 29, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0003629
Date: May 22, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0003629
Justia Opinion Summary: The intermediate court of appeals (ICA) did not err in ruling that an injury suffered by Plaintiff that arose while she worked as a Public Health Educator IV for the State Department of Health (DOH) resulted from an…
Date: May 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000508
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s grant of partial summary judgment to Plaintiff on remand from a decision by the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) in Plaintiff’s favor on two issues relating to the…
Date: May 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000446
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s convictions for unlawful imprisonment in the second degree and abuse of family or household members, holding that the prosecutor’s statements during closing argument amounted to an…
Date: May 18, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-15-0000861
Justia Opinion Summary: Hawaii’s use tax, Haw. Rev. Stat. 238-2, does not violate the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution notwithstanding that the 2004 amendment to the statute eliminated the application of the tax to in-state…
Date: May 16, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000402
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reiterated its holding in State v. Murray, 169 P.3d 955, 964 (2007), that a trial court must engage a defendant in an on-the-record colloquy to ensure the defendant is intelligently, knowingly, and…
Date: May 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0000595
Justia Opinion Summary: In the second appeal regarding this Landlord-Tenant dispute involving the eviction of Tenant from Landlord’s condominium, the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) failed adequately to address the district court’s denial…
Date: May 8, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0004947
Justia Opinion Summary: Employees may bring defamation and false light claims against their employer because the Workers’ Compensation Law’s (WCL) bar on claims for injuries incurred in the course of employment does not extend to injuries to a…
Date: May 7, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000663
Date: April 26, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0003500
Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2007, Choy rear-ended Jiminez's vehicle, pushing that vehicle forward, so that it hit the rear of a vehicle driven by Aggasid. Medeiros testified that she was helping Aggasid transport a patient to a doctor’s…
Date: April 26, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000744
Justia Opinion Summary: Harrison, an owner of two commercial apartments within a mixed-use development project managed by Casa, sued, alleging she was improperly assessed for expenses that should have been charged only to residential apartment…
Date: April 24, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000021
Justia Opinion Summary: Haw. R. Civ. P. 56O(e) does not preclude an affidavit from being self-serving, nor does it require an affidavit to be corroborated by independent evidence. Further, an affidavit is conclusory if it expresses a conclusion…
Date: April 18, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000466
Date: April 12, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000335
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s conviction for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, holding that the record did not support a conclusion that Defendant’s waiver of the right to testify at trial…
Date: April 6, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-12-0000070
Date: April 4, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000759
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court erred in failing to continue trial because of the unavailability of a defense witness. Defendant was found guilty of second degree robbery. On the first day of his trial, defendant moved to continue…
Date: April 3, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-18-0000086
Date: March 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000363
Justia Opinion Summary: Hawaii’s extended term sentencing scheme was invalid based on the holding in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), because the sentencing scheme allowed a judge, rather than a jury, to determine facts that…
Date: March 19, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000569
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) ruling that some of the grounds of Albert Batalona’s post-conviction petition raised colorable claims for…
Date: March 16, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0000636
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court correctly ruled that this criminal case must be dismissed because Defendant’s Hawai’i Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 48 rights had been violated where the twenty-one day period between Defendant’s…
Date: March 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000645
Justia Opinion Summary: A purchaser of property that is subject to a mortgage to which the purchaser is not a party may challenge a foreclosing plaintiff’s entitlement to enforce the note. Karen Zakarian executed a promissory note secured by a…
Date: March 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000705
Date: March 15, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001195
Justia Opinion Summary: Because restitution is part of the “maximum penalty provided by law” and is a direct consequence of conviction, defendants must be appropriately advised and questioned in open court regarding their understanding of this…
Date: March 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001137
Date: March 13, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-12-0000753
Justia Opinion Summary: The estate of a viable fetus can recover for loss of enjoyment of life - also known as “hedonic” - damages. Plaintiff, an inmate, alleged that the actions of correctional officers and the subsequent failure of medical…
Date: February 21, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001105
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeal’s (ICA) order dismissing Appellant’s appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction and remanded this case to the ICA for further proceedings because the record did…
Date: February 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000872
Date: February 14, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000935
Justia Opinion Summary: In this criminal case in which Defendant pleaded no contest to one count of custodial interference in the first degree, the family court erred in ordering Defendant to reimburse the State for the costs of her…
Date: February 13, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000811
Date: February 9, 2018
Docket Number: SCAP-16-0000496
Justia Opinion Summary: The circuit court erred by engaging in a comprehensive inquiry into the amount the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) actually needed for its administrative and operating expenses. In the first appeal in this…
Date: January 31, 2018
Docket Number: SCPW-17-0000906
Date: January 23, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000916
Justia Opinion Summary: In this negligence case, the circuit court abused its discretion in entering default against Defendant and in refusing to set aside the entry of default. In addition, the circuit court erred in sua sponte dismissing…
Date: January 22, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-18-0000020
Date: January 18, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000558
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s conviction for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, holding that the record did not support a conclusion that Defendant’s waiver of the right to testify was…
Date: January 12, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000811
Date: January 10, 2018
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000508
Date: January 4, 2018
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000811
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