Supreme Court of Hawaii Decisions 2020
Date: December 29, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000600
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that the district court rejected evidence which, if admitted,…
Date: December 24, 2020
Docket Numbers: SCWC-16-0000664, SCWC-16-0000663, SCWC-19-0000077
Justia Opinion Summary: In these consolidated appeals arising from Kenneth Skahan's claims for workers' compensation benefits against his former employer and its insurance carrier (collectively, Employer), the Supreme Court vacated in part the…
Date: December 23, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Justia Opinion Summary: Due to the rate of positive COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations on O'ahu, the Supreme Court ordered that the August 27, 2020 order regarding temporary extension of the time requirements under Haw. R. Pen. P. 5(c)(3) for…
Date: December 23, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000420
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals affirming Defendant's judgment of conviction and sentence for second-degree assault, holding that the circuit court erred by failing to instruct…
Date: December 22, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: December 21, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000859
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the ICA's judgment on appeal except that part of the judgment relating to an additional revocation period for having three or more prior alcohol enforcement contacts, holding that the…
Date: December 21, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000845
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) in this appeal, holding that the ICA erred when it vacated the jury's civil conspiracy verdict, when it vacated an order of the circuit…
Date: December 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCCQ-19-0000156
Justia Opinion Summary: In response to a question certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit the Supreme Court answered that the statute of limitations for a regulatory takings claim brought under the Hawai'i…
Date: December 14, 2020
Docket Number: SCEC-20-0000725
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this election complaint challenging the result of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OAH) at-large trustee election in the November 3, 2020 general election, holding that Plaintiff Keoni Souza…
Date: December 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000111
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the denial of relief and dismissal of Appellant's Hawai'i Rules of Penal Procedure (HRPP) Rule 40 petition, holding that Appellant was entitled to appropriate relief because Appellant's counsel…
Date: December 8, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000666
Date: November 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000615
Date: November 20, 2020
Docket Number: SCCQ-19-0000556
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question by concluding that, under Hawai'i law, a permissive user of an insured vehicle, whose connection to the vehicle is permission to use the vehicle to run errands and drive to…
Date: November 16, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000529
Date: November 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court ordered that this Court's August 27, 2020 order regarding temporary extension of the time requirements under Hawai'i Rules of Penal Procedure Rule 5(c)(3) for first circuit criminal matters is further…
Date: November 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000529
Date: November 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000575
Date: November 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000446
Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce proceeding, the Supreme Court adopted the California Supreme Court's test for voluntariness in premarital agreements (PMA) under the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act (UPAA) and held that the family court…
Date: October 8, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000556
Date: October 8, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000185
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that res judicata does not preclude a Haw. R. Civ. P. 60(b) motion for relief from judgment in a foreclosure proceeding and that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying…
Date: October 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court extended an August 27, 2020 order for first circuit criminal matters, which was extended pursuant to a September 11, 2020 order, until November 16, 2020, determining that changing conditions wrought by…
Date: October 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCEC-20-0000507
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Plaintiff's complaint contending that the Supreme Court should strike Kaiali'i Kahele as a democratic candidate for the office of U.S. Representative, District II, holding that Plaintiff…
Date: October 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCEC-20-0000508
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted the Chief Election Officer's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's election complaint, holding that the Court could not grant the relief requested. Plaintiff Ashley Famera-Rosenzweig was one of four…
Date: October 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-12-0000538
Date: September 23, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000556
Date: September 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000576
Date: September 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000844
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the district court's judgment finding Defendant guilty of resisting arrest, holding that Defendant was entitled to relief on his…
Date: September 14, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000550
Date: September 11, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: September 1, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 28, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-12-0000538
Date: August 28, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000716
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, under the totality of the circumstances in this case, the results of Defendant's breath test were admissible because Defendant validly consented to the breath test. After police arrested…
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 26, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 25, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 24, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 20, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCEC-20-0000505
Justia Opinion Summary: In this original proceeding, the Supreme Court entered judgment dismissing this complaint asking the Court to nullify the results of the August 8, 2020 primary election for the City and County of Honolulu mayoral seat…
Date: August 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCMF-20-0000152
Date: August 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: August 16, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509 (Order Re: Petty Misdemeanor and Misdemeanor Defendants). Petition for Writ of Mandamus, filed 08/12/2020. S.Ct. Order, filed 08/13/2020 [ada]. S.Ct. Interim Order, filed 08/14/2020 [ada]. Dissent, filed 08/15/2020 [ada]. Original Proceeding
Date: August 14, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Justia Opinion Summary: Given the rising number of COVID-19 cases at the O'ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) and the difficulties with social distancing the Supreme Court requested additional information to assist the court and parties…
Date: August 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000509
Date: July 1, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-12-0000537
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals and the circuit court's judgment convicting Defendant of assault in the second degree, holding that the prosecutor's misconduct in this case…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-18-0000068
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the circuit court's final judgment granting and apportioning monetary damages to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries after ruling that the State breached its duties as…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0000594
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Plaintiff's injury-by-disease was compensable under Hawai'i's workers' compensation law because the employer failed to overcome the presumption in favor of compensability. Plaintiff filed a…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000960
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000345
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the district court's judgment convicting Defendant of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), holding that…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000604
Justia Opinion Summary: In this criminal case, the Supreme Court held prospectively that once the court receives notice pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. 407.5(1) that a defendant's penal responsibility is an issue in the case, the circuit court must…
Date: June 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000138
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court granted Defendants' petition for writ of mandamus, holding that the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) manifestly abused its discretion in setting the amount of a supersedeas bond as a condition of…
Date: June 29, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000810
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's sentence for theft in the second degree by shoplifting, holding that, pursuant to State v. Auld, 361 P.3d 471 (Haw. 2015), Defendant's sentence violated his right to a jury…
Date: June 25, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000284
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case arising from settlement negotiations between Plaintiff and Defendants relating to a dispute about water and mold damage to Plaintiff's condominium the Supreme Court remanded this case with instruction that…
Date: June 25, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000638
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII),…
Date: June 24, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000701
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that Defendant's privilege against self-incrimination was…
Date: June 23, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000692
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), holding that admissibility of…
Date: June 22, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000381
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the opinion of the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) vacating the circuit court's order granting Defendant's motion to suppress all evidence seized as a result of the execution of a search…
Date: June 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-18-0000578
Date: June 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-18-0000632
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for murder in the second degree, holding that third party culpability evidence was erroneously excluded, but the error was harmless beyond a reasonable…
Date: June 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000386
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the Intermediate Court of Appeals' (ICA) judgment on appeal and the circuit court's amended judgment convicting Defendant of burglary in the first degree, holding that Defendant was denied the…
Date: June 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000050
Justia Opinion Summary: In this ejectment action, the Supreme Court granted Appellant's motion for in forma pauperis (IFP) status on appeal, vacated the Intermediate Court of Appeals' (ICA) order dismissing appeal, and remanded this case to the…
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000329
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of reckless endangering in the second degree, holding that the circuit court…
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000529
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case arising from the nonjudicial foreclosure of Petitioner's apartment based on unpaid assessments the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) partially affirming the trial…
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000960
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) upholding an order and judgment of the probate court that modified a trust provision regarding the distribution of trust principal without…
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000115
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of sexual assault in the first degree and sexual assault in the third degree,…
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000145
Date: June 18, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000762
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal challenging the circuit court's grant of Defendant's ex parte oral motion to dismiss a personal injury action with prejudice, the Supreme Court held that the circuit court abused its discretion in granting…
Date: June 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000145
Justia Opinion Summary: In this certiorari proceeding arising out of a lawsuit brought by condominium owners whose unit was nonjudicially foreclosed by their association of apartment owners the Supreme Court held that the intermediate court of…
Date: June 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000507
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of assault against a law enforcement officer in the second degree, holding that the record did not reflect an on-the-record exchange sufficient to constitute the true…
Date: June 16, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000266
Date: June 16, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000568
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal stemming from James Smith's "complaint to initiate special proceeding," the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's final judgment…
Date: June 16, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000548
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment on appeal and the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that the circuit court erred in admitting a portion of the…
Date: June 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-13-0001285
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment on appeal and the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that Defendant's fundamental due process right to present a…
Date: June 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000078
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of promoting a dangerous drug in the third degree, holding that Defendant's due process right to a fair trial was implicated by the lack of a correction of a police…
Date: June 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000692 ICA s.d.o., filed 05/30/2019 [ada], 144 Haw. 387. Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 09/03/2019. S.Ct. Order Accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 10/22/2019 [ada]. District Court, 1st Circuit, Honolulu Division
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) as well as the district court's judgment convicting Defendant of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant (OVUII), holding…
Date: June 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000777
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for violating Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (ROH) 29-5.1 for engaging in business on any public sidewalk where Defendant's operation tended to or did impede or…
Date: June 12, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000724
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction for two counts of sexual assault in the first degree for molesting a minor child, holding that the…
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCOT-19-0000044
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approving an application for a rate increase submitted by Hawai'i Gas (HG) and remanded this case to the PUC for further proceedings,…
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000200 (Dissent Re: Order Concluding Matters in This Consolidated Proceeding by Wilson, J.). S.Ct. Interim Order re: Initial Summary Report and Initial Recommendations of the Special Master, filed 04/09/2020 [ada]. Consolidated with SCPW-20-0000213. S.Ct. Interim Order, filed 04/15/2020 [ada]. S.Ct. Third Interim Order, filed 04/24/2020 [ada]. Concurrence re: Interim Order[ada]. S.Ct. Fourth Interim Order, filed 05/04/2020 [ada]. S.Ct. Fifth Interim Order, filed 05/19/2020 [ada]. S.Ct Order Concluding Matters in This Consolidated Proceeding, filed 06/05/2020 [ada]. Original Proceeding
Date: June 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000003
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this criminal matter to the circuit court for further proceedings, holding that the circuit court erred by denying Defendant's motion to suppress as to certain drug evidence. Defendant was…
Date: June 4, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000660
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals affirming the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of assault in the second degree, holding that Defendant's constitutional right…
Date: June 3, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000833
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for violating a protective order for coming within 100 feet of the complainant while at his place of work, holding that Defendant's place of work was not a "neutral…
Date: June 1, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000473
Date: June 1, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000427
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeals' judgment on appeal (ICA) inasmuch as the opinion implicitly affirmed the circuit court's calculation at resentencing of Defendant's credit for time served…
Date: May 27, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000407
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) remanding Defendant's criminal case to the circuit court, holding that it was within the circuit court's discretion to dismiss the drug…
Date: May 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000081
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction for operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant, holding that Defendant's untimely filing…
Date: May 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCOT-17-0000526
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Land Use Commission of the State of Hawai'i erred in a 2017 by interpreting a condition of an administrative order issued almost thirty years earlier prohibiting a resort (Resort) from…
Date: May 15, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001300
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction and sentence for criminal property damage in the second degree, holding that the risk of unfair prejudice posed by the introduction of four prior incidents of aggressive…
Date: May 14, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000473
Date: May 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001030
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment affirming the judgment of the circuit court in favor of Dr. Robert Mastroianni on Plaintiff's claim that Dr. Mastroianni's negligence was the…
Date: May 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000570
Justia Opinion Summary: In this nuisance action, the Supreme Court vacated the circuit court's final judgments and the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment affirming in part, holding that the ICA erred by concluding that damages are…
Date: May 4, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000349
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeal (ICA) and the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board's (LIRAB) award of attorney's fees to Stanford Masui for his representation of…
Date: April 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000807
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, in foreclosure cases in which a deficiency judgment is entered, the traditional process by which Hawai'i courts calculate a deficiency judgment can result in unjust enrichment, and therefore,…
Date: April 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000317
Justia Opinion Summary: In this commercial landlord-tenant dispute the Supreme Court affirmed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the circuit court's judgment finding that Tenant was not…
Date: April 29, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000536
Justia Opinion Summary: In Father's third appeal in a divorce proceeding the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) except to the extent it affirmed the family court's order denying Father's motion for…
Date: April 29, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000630
Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce proceeding, the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) concluding that Father's motion to amend findings of fact and conclusions of law and motion for new trial…
Date: April 28, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000546
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for escape in the second degree but remanded the matter to the circuit court for calculation of Defendant's presentence detention credit consistent with this…
Date: April 27, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000095
Date: April 24, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000522
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) vacating the order of the circuit court dismissing the charge against Defendant for possession of a dangerous drug in the third degree,…
Date: April 22, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001090
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court primarily affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the judgment of the circuit court convicting Defendant of various counts, including attempted murder of a police…
Date: April 22, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000332
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the judgment of the family court convicting Defendant on two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, holding that the ICA…
Date: April 20, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000332 ICA s.d.o., filed 05/29/2019 [ada], 144 Haw. 386. Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 08/06/2019.S.Ct. Order Accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 09/27/2019 [ada]. Family Court, 1st Circuit
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming Defendant's conviction of sexual assault in the first degree on the complaining witness pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat.…
Date: April 20, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-19-0000095
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the order of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) dismissing this appeal on the grounds that appellate jurisdiction was lacking, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in…
Date: April 17, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000211
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the family court's challenged rulings concerning child custody and relocation and disqualification of counsel in a divorce…
Date: April 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000235
Date: April 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000027
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) amended judgment remanding this custody case to the family court for further proceedings, holding that the ICA did not err by holding that the family…
Date: March 19, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000568
Date: March 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-12-0001090
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case arising from a personal injury lawsuit against the drivers of two vehicles in two separate accidents, one in 2005 and the other in 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed the ICA"s judgment vacating the circuit…
Date: March 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000454
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction for failing to comply with the requirements of Haw. Rev. Stat. 291C-13, holding that both the complaint and the evidence were insufficient. Section 291C-13 requires that…
Date: March 11, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000480
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case concerning the State's refusal to produce the results of an investigation into the Office of the Auditor based in part on the lawyer-client privilege the Supreme Court held that the State may not exclude a…
Date: March 10, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000235
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the order of the circuit court determining that Appellant qualified as a "plaintiff" for the purpose of the vexatious litigant…
Date: March 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000325
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the order of the circuit court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint alleging…
Date: March 5, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-18-0000301
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) did not abuse its discretion by imposing sanctions on two attorneys (together, Counsel) and denying Counsel's motion to reconsider the sanctions orders…
Date: March 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCPW-20-0000082
Date: March 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000260
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the judgment of the circuit court granting Defendants' motion to compel arbitration of Plaintiff's complaint against a…
Date: February 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000895
Date: February 6, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000355
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the decision of the circuit court affirming the decision of the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System of Hawai'i (ERS…
Date: January 31, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000402
Justia Opinion Summary: On Defendant's appeal from his convictions of driving without a license and of no motor vehicle insurance, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the district court and the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and…
Date: January 30, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000712
Justia Opinion Summary: In this compensation dispute based on an oral agreement between Plaintiff and Defendants the Supreme Court affirmed the intermediate court of appeals' (ICA) judgment on appeal affirming the circuit court's final…
Date: January 24, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000593
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) and the circuit court's judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that the circuit court abused its discretion in denying Defendant's…
Date: January 21, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000816
Justia Opinion Summary: In this taxation dispute between the County of Maui and Appellees, which leased land on the island of Maui to operate their wind farms, the Supreme Court upheld the Tax Appeals Court's (TAC) final judgment in favor of…
Date: January 21, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-15-0000309
Justia Opinion Summary: In this foreclosure dispute, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the intermediate court of appeals (ICA) affirming the circuit court's determination of lien priority between the Villages of Kapolei Association's …
Date: January 13, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-14-0001138
Date: January 9, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-16-0000123
Justia Opinion Summary: In this foreclosure case, the Supreme Court held that the circuit court's award of a forfeited down payment as damages to the Association of the Owners of the Kumulani of the Uplands at Mauna Kea, creditors in the…
Date: January 3, 2020
Docket Number: SCWC-17-0000226
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction on the charge of assault in the third degree, holding that the deputy prosecuting attorney's elicitation of evidence regarding Child Welfare Services' involvement in…
Date: January 2, 2020
Docket Number: SCAP-17-0000707
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction of kidnapping, holding that the circuit court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the "restraint" required to support a kidnapping conviction under Haw. Rev. Stat.…
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