Toyama v. Employment Security Appeals Office, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

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* * * NOT FOR PUBLICATION * * * NO. 24201 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I PETER K. TOYAMA, Appellant-Appellant, vs. EMPLOYMENT SECURITY APPEALS OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS (DLIR), STATE OF HAWAI#I and MR. ERNEST HANAUMI, in his capacity as Appeals Hearings Officer; MS. JOYCE PANG, in her capacity as Chief Appeals Officer of the Employment Security Appeals Office of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MS. ELAINE FUKUDA, in her capacity as Secretary and Custodian of Records for the Chief Appeals Officer, Employment Security Appeals Office, of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MS. TINA LEE TAMAI, in her capacity as Hearings Officer of Employment Security Appeals Office of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MR. ARTHUR BARBA, in his capacity as Senior Claims Examiner of the Unemployment Insurance Division (Waipahu Office) of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MR. WALTER YAMAMOTO, in his capacity as Senior Claims Examiner of the Unemployment Insurance Division (Waipahu Office) of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MS. GAIL UYEMATSU, in her capacity as Claims Examiner of the Unemployment Insurance Division (Waipahu Office) of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i; MR. NELSON BEFITEL,1 in his capacity as Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), State of Hawai#i, Appellees-Appellees, and SAN JUAN CONSTRUCTION, INC., a Foreign corporation registered to do business in Hawai#i and on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands and MR. FRANK HAWK, in his capacity as President and Responsible Managing Employee of San Juan Construction, Inc.; MR. WAYNE HAWK, in his 1 At the time this case arose, Leonard Agor was the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Pursuant to Hawai#i Rules of Appellate Procedure, Rule 43(c) (2003) (entitled Substitution of parties ), the current Director, Nelson Befitel, has been substituted for Leonard Agor. * * * NOT FOR PUBLICATION * * * capacity as Vice President of San Juan Construction, Inc.; MR. CHRIS HAWK, in his capacity as Vice President of San Juan Construction, Inc.; MR. CARL HAWK, in his capacity as Secretary/Treasurer of San Juan Construction, Inc.; MR. MICHAEL BRADLEY, in his capacity as Vice President of San Juan Construction, Inc.; MR. TROY THOMPSON, in his capacity as Project Manager for San Juan Construction, Inc. for its project on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Marshall Islands; MS. YVONNE TAYLOR, as its Secretary and Custodian of Records for San Juan Construction, Inc,; MR. STEVEN RITCHART, an individual and former employee of San Juan Construction Inc., on Kwajalein Atoll Project in the Marshall Islands; MR. MICHAEL AKUNA, an individual and former employee of San Juan Construction, Inc., on their Kwajalein Atoll Project in the Marshall Islands; MR. JOSEPH AKUNA, an individual and former employee of San Juan Construction, Inc. on their Kwajalein Atoll Project in the Marshall Islands; MR. DEAN MARTINEZ, an individual, Appellees. APPEAL FROM THE FIRST CIRCUIT COURT (CIV. NO. 00-1-1322) SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Moon, C.J., Levinson, Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy JJ.) Appellant-appellant Peter K. Toyama appeals from the March 20, 2001 final judgment of the first circuit court, the Honorable Eden Elizabeth Hifo presiding, affirming the March 21, 2000 decision of the Employment Security Appeals Referees Office (ESARO). Toyama argues that the circuit court erred in affirming the decision of the ESARO and that the ESARO and the hearings examiner improperly relied on evidence presented by Toyama s employer, San Juan Construction, Inc., in ruling against Toyama. On appeal, Toyama contends that [t]he Unemployment Claims Examiner and Referee s Office relied m ore of [sic] the misleading information from employer rather than AppellantAppellant. 2 * * * NOT FOR PUBLICATION * * * Upon carefully reviewing the record and the briefs submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to the arguments advocated and the issues raised, we hold that the circuit court did not err when it concluded that Toyama s appeal of a decision that he was overpaid employment benefits as a result of fraud was not timely filed based upon the evidence in the record and the statutory requirements for appeal. See Hawai#i Revised Statutes (HRS) ยงยง 91-14(b) (1993), 383-38 (Supp. 2000), and 383-41 (1993); Hawai#i Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 28(b)(7) (2003). Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the circuit court s March 20, 2001 final judgment is affirmed. DATED: Honolulu, Hawaii, July 21, 2004. On the briefs: Peter K. Toyama, Appellant-Appellant pro se Staci I. Teruya, Deputy Attorney General, for Appellees-Appellees Director and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, State of Hawai#i Michael L. Freed for Appellee San Juan Construction, Inc. (no brief filed) 3

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