Opinion ID: 2633532
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Act 14 (creating trust fund to settle title-related trust issues and shortening time to file suit on Chapter 674-individual claims)

Text: Due to uncertainties regarding land titles arising out of claims related to trust lands and breaches of the trust that affected the trust as a whole, Act 14, which was based on the Governor's Action Plan and Section 5 of Act 395, was promulgated by the 1995 Legislature. 1995 Haw. Sp. Sess. L. Act 14, § 1 at 696. Act 14 expressly stated its intent to settle all retroactive claims, but left intact the Chapter 674 claims. Act 14, inter alia, created a trust fund to settle all title-related trust claims arising from the State's misuse of trust lands and precluded all retroactive claims, including those governed by HRS chapter 674, from creating clouds on existing land titles. Act 14 stated that its effect was res judicata as to all retroactive claims, except for those claims related to federal government reparations, as well as Chapter 673 and Chapter 674 claims. 1995 Haw. Sp. Sess. L. Act 14, § 4 at 699. Act 14 also shortened the time to file suit in court under HRS chapter 674 by one year to September 30, 1998 to ensure the resolution of the individual claims in a fair, complete, and timely manner. 1995 Haw. Sp. Sess. L. Act 14, § 2 at 698; see also 1995 Haw. Sp. Sess. L. Act 14, § 15 at 702. Thus, the remedies under Act 14 and chapter 674 are complementary: Act 14 seeks to cure fiduciary breaches affecting the trust as a whole, whereas chapter 674 is preserved as the remedy by which individual beneficiaries can pursue claims against the State defendants for personal losses or harm suffered through breaches of the State's fiduciary obligations between 1959 and 1988.