140 results for 'court:"USDC Hawaii"'.
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. Gillmor rules on several motions in limine in this loan contract dispute, determining, for example, that partial evidence of prior bad dealings may be introduced to the court.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: October 20, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv411, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Contract
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses claims by a helicopter association that says a new state law requiring tour aircraft operators to submit monthly reports about flight information to the state Department of Transportation is preempted by the Federal Aviation Act. The claims against the state are barred by the 11th Amendment, though claims against the DOT director may remain. Though the measure is yet to be fully implemented, the helicopter association did show sufficient potential hardship, as the threat of enforcement is enough for the claims to survive. A claim related to a previous dispute involving FAA regulations is dismissed as it should have been brought as a refiling in the prior case, not a new complaint.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv83, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Government, Aviation
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J. Kobayashi dismisses a complaint stemming from the denial of an individual’s unemployment assistance, finding that the civil rights claims against the state, the governor and other state officials in their official capacity are barred by the 11th Amendment. Due process claims in their individual capacity also fail as the complaint is not clear on basic facts, such as whether the employee qualifies for unemployment benefits in the first place or what the denial process looked like.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: October 13, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv385, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Employment, Government, Due Process
J. Seabright denies summary judgment to the government and the IRS in case of a Japanese resident’s failure to file a foreign bank account report for several years. The failure to file was likely not willful, but rather a result of the fact that the resident does not speak English and lives primarily in Japan, and relied on an accountant and a mistranslated form that indicated that non-residents were exempt from this filing.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Seabright, Filed On: October 10, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv63, NOS: Taxes (U.S. Plaintiff or Defendant) - Federal Tax Suits, Categories: Government, Tax
J. Gillmor grants summary judgment to the director of the state’s public housing authority in a case of a tenant accusing the director and other authority employees of discrimination and retaliation. There is no evidence that the director, who oversees thousands of public housing units, knew specifically about the individual tenant’s situation, and an email sent to the director by the tenant after the complaint was filed does not show the director had any direct knowledge of any discrimination.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv247, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government, Housing
J. Kobayashi refuses to vacate judgment in a property transfer dispute, finding that there was no error in transfer recipients’ voluntary dismissal nor in the subsequent granting of summary judgment against them, as they had not presented any argument prior that would have changed the results. A letter seeking attorney fees from the prevailing homeowner cannot be considered new evidence.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv270, NOS: Other Fraud - Torts - Personal Property, Categories: Fraud, Property, Enforcement Of Judgments
[Consolidated.] J. Otake refuses to dismiss the bankruptcy court’s orders that an asset on Hawaiian home lands of a now-bankrupt telecommunications company was properly sold to defendant telecommunications company. The sale order establishes that asset was properly acquired by the trustee of the bankrupt bankrupt telecommunications company and sold to defendant telecommunications company. The contesting companies did not show the trustee failed to levy the asset on real property interests, as the asset was classified a personal property. An earlier agreement between the bankrupt company and the contesting companies on the asset does not contradict the sale order.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv441, NOS: Bankruptcy Appeal 28 USC 158 - Bankruptcy, Categories: Bankruptcy, Communications
J. Otake dismisses a complaint by an individual bringing a complaint against the judicial officers involved in his traffic citations and his car’s impounding. The complaint does not rely on any applicable federal laws for the right to travel. Judges involved are barred from the claims by Eleventh Amendment immunity. The citations and other proceedings are still ongoing and the court does not have jurisdiction to make an decisions at the time.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv195, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Civil Rights, Jurisdiction
J. Kobayashi finds in favor of a former employee of a laboratory services company accused by the company of violating a non-complete clause. The employee is entitled to attorney fees in the amount of $19,532 for his successful defense against the company's Defend Trade Secrets Act and Hawai'i Uniform Trade Secrets Act claims that were brought in bad faith. He is also entitled to unpaid wages of $354,000 pursuant to the jury's verdict and a civil penalty in the amount of $354,000, plus $84,000 in interest.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv310, NOS: Recovery of Overpayment & Enforcement of Judgment - Contract, Categories: Trade Secrets, Damages, Attorney Fees
J. Kobayashi grants the bank's motion to remand a foreclosure proceeding. Although one of the homeowners who asked for removal was only added as a defendant in an amended complaint a year after the initial complaint, the amended complaint is not considered an entirely new action. The request for removal was, therefore, untimely as it was filed more than a year since the initial foreclosure.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: September 19, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv44, NOS: Foreclosure - Real Property, Categories: Jurisdiction, Foreclosure
J. Watson partially denies an engineering company's motion to dismiss contract claims for design and construction work associated with a transit project. The engineering company properly alleged quantum meruit, detrimental reliance, and unjust enrichment claims, as the parties' agreement may allow alternatives to its breach of contract claims.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv279, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Construction, Contract
J. Kobayashi dismisses disability discrimination complaint by a Department of Defense employee, finding that the complaint was not filed within the 90 deadline from the employee and his attorney's receipt of the EEOC's final decision. The 90 days were counted from when the decision was sent out, not when it was able to be read. Equitable tolling does not apply; although the employee and attorney encountered technical difficulties when trying to initially access the decision, there was still time to file a complaint within the limits.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: September 14, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv119, NOS: Amer w/Disabilities-Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, Employment Discrimination
J. Otake certifies questions to the Hawaii Supreme Court clarifying if the insurance companies have a duty to defend the gas company against underlying suits accusing the gas company of exacerbating climate change effects in Hawaii and failing to warn residents about greenhouse gases. There is no precedent on if an insurance policy should include recklessness as a coverable accident, and if greenhouse gases are considered pollutants excluded from the policy.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv372, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Environment, Insurance
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses a Hawaii State registrar for land court and a family from claims by the family’s mother that they had wrongfully acquired the title and trust of the mother’s elderly father. The mother does not have standing to bring the claims as she does not purport to be a representative of the father’s estate or allege any legal ownership of the property. She also lacks personal jurisdiction as a majority of the claims took place in Arizona, not Hawaii.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv503, NOS: Other Personal Injury - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Property, Jurisdiction
J. Seabright grants the various dismissal motions filed in this pro se lawsuit alleging multiple constitutional violations "against scores of defendants." The complaint, which totals over 500 pages in length, contains "highly generalized claims, with little reference to specific harm caused by any defendant to plaintiff." The court will dismiss all of the federal claims, though the plaintiff will be given an opportunity to explain how the complaint could be amended "to state a timely claim under federal law."
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Seabright, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv6, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Procedure, Constitution
J. Kobayashi partially grants summary judgment to the Hawaii State Department of Health employees in this lawsuit alleging violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Rehabilitation Act, as well as medical malpractice, stemming from an alleged change in the son's educational placement. As to the parents' claim under IDEA, they failed to exhaust their administrative remedies, and in any event, the Department of Education is responsible for a "free appropriate public education." The court also declines to exercise jurisdiction over their medical malpractice claim.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: August 21, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv455, NOS: Education - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Education, Jurisdiction
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. Otake declines to stay proceedings in a physician’s challenge to the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA’s regulations on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, finding that a stay would cause unreasonable delay to the physician’s case. The stay proposed by the DHHS and the FDA, based on two other federal cases around the nation, would either be too long given the urgency of the case, or short enough that it would be unnecessary.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Otake, Filed On: August 8, 2023, Case #: 1:17cv493, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, Government
J. Watson grants summary judgment to the university and two university officials and dismisses a professor’s claims that they shut down his lab and disposed of his work while he was on medical leave in violation of his freedom of speech and in breach of his employment contract. The university and the officials have sovereign immunity from the claims and the professor cannot show that they were required to provide classes or a laboratory to him.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: August 7, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv217, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Education, Immunity, First Amendment
J. Seabright partially denies summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act case to Experian, finding that Experian did not willfully misrepresent a consumer’s credit but may have negligently done so when relying on information provided by the bank. However, summary judgment is granted to Experian in regards to the consumer’s damages as she did not submit proper testimony that the credit report affected her medical well-being or that the report caused her to be denied a credit card.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Seabright, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv334, NOS: Consumer Credit - Other Suits, Categories: Bankruptcy, Consumer Law
J. Watson partially denies summary judgment to the city agency accused by a gay bar of discriminating against it through a campaign to revoke its liquor license, finding that there is genuine dispute of material fact on the reason for agency’s focus on the bar and other LGBTQ establishments and that the gay bar has suffered injury due to the agency’s interference. Commission members sued only in their official capacities are granted summary judgment and are dismissed.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Watson, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv457, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, Equal Protection, Lgbtq
J. Kobayashi dismisses claims by a Hilo resident who alleges he was wrongfully arrested without a warrant, denied bail and had unfair proceedings initiated against him by the case’s judge, prosecutor, public defender and various court employees. Beyond being able to make any claims with plausible relief, the claims against the judge are barred by Eleventh Amendment immunity. He is also unable to show that the attorneys involved maliciously charged him with crimes or failed to properly defend against the charges.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv246, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Judiciary, Malicious Prosecution, Due Process