Plaintiffs v State of Hawaii
Court Rules Hawaii Failed On Trust Lands: Ends Decade Long Battle
After a 10-year court battle and decades of waiting in vain for homesteads, plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit won a judgment against the state for failing to promptly award home lots to native Hawaiians under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.
Three of the 2,700 plaintiffs who filed suit against the state appeared at a news conference the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation office. The plaintiffs include Wehilani Ching, left, Caroline Bright and Irene Cordeiro-Vierra. Attorney Carl Varady attended with them. Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo ruled Tuesday that the state failed in its trust responsibilities and the plaintiffs should receive monetary damages.
Carl Varady, one of the plaintiff attorneys, said it is "purely speculative" to say how much money is involved because the amount is yet to be determined in a separate trial.
He said the damages could include mortgage and rent payments made by the plaintiffs when they should have been on homesteads and other out-of-pocket losses suffered by the plaintiffs.
The decision came in the lawsuit filed in 1999 on behalf of about 2,700 native Hawaiians who claimed they were not promptly awarded homesteads between 1959 and 1988.
The beneficiaries filed claims under a 1991 law passed to compensate them for their losses resulting from the delays. But the Legislature acted on only two claims before shutting down the administrative process in 1999, prompting the lawsuit.
The case went up to the state Supreme Court when the state questioned the right of the plaintiffs to sue before being sent back to Circuit Court for a five-week trial in August.
The attorneys noted that in recent years, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has made progress in generating income from the trust lands and getting claimants on the land.
Varady and Grande said they expect the state to appeal the decision. However, he urged the state and the Legislature to consider funding a settlement that would fairly compensate the plaintiffs while they are still alive, noting that more than 300 of the plaintiffs have died in the last 10 years and many of the remaining plaintiffs are elderly
A judge has ruled the state is liable to Hawaiians who had to wait for Hawaiian homestead lands. In her 18-page written decision, Hifo suggested that a special master should be appointed to help determine how damage claims will be resolved.
The state is "reviewing the decision to determine the appropriate next steps," according to a news release from the Attorney General's Office.
For more information please contact:
Carl Varady
American Savings Bank Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Suite 2870
Honolulu, Hawai`i 96813
Telephone: 808.523.8447
Facsimile: 808.523.8448
