Plaintiffs Claim Win in Hawaiian Homelands Suit By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser November 13, 2017 The plaintiffs in a long-running class-action lawsuit over long waits for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead lots have scored what they consider another crucial victory in court. Barring a last-minute production of documents, the state no longer can challenge whether potentially hundreds of plaintiffs whose DHHL files are missing or incomplete are entitled to damages — thanks to an Oct. 30 ruling by Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys…. To read the full article, click here. Plaintiffs Still Await Data in Hawaiian Homestead Suit By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser October 30, 2016 Seven years after a favorable court ruling, the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the state and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands are still waiting for state documents they consider essential for calculating damages related to long waits for homesteads. Attorneys for the 2,700 plaintiffs say at least 600 files are missing, slowing the litigation process and reflecting abysmal record keeping by DHHL…. To read the full article, click here. In Hawaiian Homelands Suit, Plaintiffs Ask for Special Master By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser July 23, 2014 At age 87, Irene Cordeiro-Vierra doesn’t expect to see a penny of relief from the state before she dies. "Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever get anything," Cordeiro-Vierra says, blaming the state for what she considers delayed justice. The Laie resident and former waitress is one of more than 2,700 Native Hawaiians or their heirs who are waiting for the state to pay damages for failing to deliver Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead lots on a timely basis. Even though a judge more than four years ago found the state liable for breach of trust in a class-action lawsuit the plaintiffs filed in 1999, the case still is moving slowly through the damages phase and is far from being resolved. A recent attempt at court-ordered mediation failed to yield a settlement… To read the full article, click here. Long Wait for Justice By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser July 14, 2013 Caroline Bright applied for a homestead lease in 1959, the year Hawaii became a state. She died last year at age 87, still waiting for one. "She gave up on them," said her daughter, singer Teresa Bright. "She lost hope." Caroline Bright was part of a class-action lawsuit filed nearly 14 years ago against the state for breaching its trust obligation to get Native Hawaiian beneficiaries onto homestead lots. After a six-week trial in 2009, a state judge ruled that the state and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which manages the 203,000-acre trust on behalf of beneficiaries, breached their fiduciary duty by not issuing homesteads on a timely basis. Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo also determined that the breaches of trust from 1959 to 1988 caused the plaintiffs economic harm and that the state must pay compensation…. To read the full article, click here. Judge Rules State Breached Home Lands Trust Craig Gima Honolulu Star-Bulletin November 5, 2009 Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo ruled Tuesday that the state failed in its trust responsibilities and the plaintiffs should receive monetary damages…. To read Honolulu Star-Bulletin news coverage, click here. Court rules state failed on trust lands (11/5/2009) |