15 results for 'judge:"Mollway"'.
J. Mollway taxes a religious organization $18,568 in its decadelong dispute with Maui over its construction of a church. The taxable costs are proper because the county attempted to meet and confer with the church, despite the church’s refusal. The costs properly encompass fees for witnesses, trial exhibits and depositions.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 1:14cv535, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, Tax, Zoning
J. Mollway declines to extend the discovery deadline so the family of a woman who died on a diving excursion may conduct discovery and take preservation depositions of an expert who may be unable to make a physical appearance at trial. The magistrate judge properly denied the request to allow the deposition, as the family did not present a reason for not meeting the deadline.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv475, NOS: Marine - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Admiralty, Wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Mollway grants summary judgment to Hawaii and its land use commission, determining that its conversion of a parcel of land back to agricultural from urban use did not constitute a taking from the land developer, who did not build affordable housing on the land as it had promised for decades. The developer has no standing as it had transferred its interest in the property.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: February 12, 2024, Case #: 1:17cv113, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property, Real Estate, Zoning
J. Mollway rules on several motions in limine in a lawsuit over the state reverting a property from urban to agricultural use and preventing a developer from using it. For example, several motions related to evidence of the developer’s contractual damages are granted as they are irrelevant to its taking claims. Motions and evidence that remains include information about the reverting order and testimony about the property value.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 1:17cv113, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Government, Property, Zoning
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J. Mollway finds that a driver is partially liable for a moped driver’s damages after the two were involved in an accident that resulted in the moped driver’s injuries. The two drivers crossed paths as the car driver made an intersection turn onto the moped driver’s lane. It is unclear whether the the vehicles physically collided but the car driver is responsible for a negligent turn that the moped driver had to swerve to avoid. The car driver is liable for only 60% of the damages given comparative negligence due to evidence the moped driver was speeding at the time.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 1:22cv299, NOS: Motor Vehicle - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Vehicle, Damages, Negligence
J. Mollway dismisses injunctive and declaratory relief for a mother and grandmother who say their children were wrongfully removed from their care while the mother was incarcerated. Custody of the children remains pending in state family court, and nothing prevents the mother and grandmother from bringing their claims in that court, precluding the federal court’s involvement. Claims for damages, however, are stayed pending the state court proceedings.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: January 19, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv578, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: Family Law, Jurisdiction
J. Mollway denies the planned community development’s motion to add a related company as plaintiff in its claims against the state for rezoning the development’s land from urban to agricultural, stopping development. Though the companies are essentially the same entity and have transferred various interests between them, “under the purported assignment in 2021 or 2022, Aina Le`a no longer has a property interest that was allegedly taken such that Aina Le`a should be in this case.”
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: 1:17cv113, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Property, Zoning
J. Mollway dismisses a complaint from the discoverer of a shipwreck asking for ownership or a partial cut of any possible treasure excavated from a suspected sunken Spanish Galleon ship off the Big Island coast. As the discoverer has not been able to obtain the proper permits to excavate the wreck and insists that one permit obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should cover all excavation efforts for over 10 years, the complaint is dismissed for lack of any progress.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: November 14, 2023, Case #: 1:12cv552, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Maritime, Property
J. Mollway denies an insurance company’s motion for summary judgment in this dispute over coverage for grounding, salvage attempt and sinking of a yacht brought by the owner. There are questions of fact regarding whether two insurance companies were misclassified as to having a relationship and which one is the responsible company to pay the claims at the time of the grounding.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv221, NOS: Marine - Contract, Categories: Insurance
J. Mollway declines a sheet metal contractor’s motion to dismiss this ERISA class action on the argument that the use of the word “may” only permits, and does not require, arbitration. “While the arbitration language could have been clearer, its use of ‘may’ is not grounds for dismissal.” The court directs both parties to meet and confer before Nov. 8, 2023.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: October 26, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv280, NOS: Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) - Labor, Categories: Arbitration, Erisa, Class Action
J. Mollway partially grants summary judgment on a religious discrimination claims by a temple that seeks a permit to operate a commercial wedding business on agriculturally zoned land. The denial of the permit fails strict scrutiny analysis as Maui Count does not show that the denial was based on any narrowly tailored law with compelling government interest.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: 1:14cv535, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Property, Zoning
J. Mollway denies a motion by the husband of a woman who died during a SCUBA boat tour to make statements made by the captain of the tour to the Coast Guard in a separate administrative action admissible at trial. The captain checking a box on the Coast Guard’s enforcement action does not unambiguously imply admitted liability just due to phrasing used in the “factual allegations” section. Additionally, admission of even a section would require the entire context of the complaint and it has already been ruled by a magistrate judge that the Coast Guard’s administrative action was to be protected from discovery.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv475, NOS: Marine - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Evidence, Wrongful Death, Discovery
J. Mollway partially unseals the government’s downward departure motion for the defendant in a fraud case involving a former state legislator that assisted in the investigation of others. The motion was briefly and accidentally filed with reversible redactions, allowing a news organization to access and publish about it. Although the motion has now been refiled as a properly sealed document, it should now be be partially unsealed, “to balance the public’s interest in transparency with the clear importance of safeguarding ongoing investigations,” especially given that a portion of the information is already publicly available. Sections regarding case-specific information and the investigative process remain redacted.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: May 17, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv175, NOS: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - Other Suits, Categories: Government, Public Record
J. Mollway grants summary judgment to the insurance company in car collision case where a mother and daughter insured by GEICO were hit by another car. The family’s policy’s resident relative exclusion, which they applied to the minor daughter’s injuries, is not contrary to public policy. “When there is no state statute setting mandatory requirements for the type of coverage at issue, Hawaii courts do not invalidate limits on insurance coverage as contrary to public policy.”
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Mollway, Filed On: May 16, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv74, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Vehicle