Opinion ID: 2544453
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: reasonable discharge of surface water and sufficiency of evidence in support of an implied easement

Text: Relying primarily upon Carter v. County of Hawai`i, 47 Haw. 68, 384 P.2d 308 (1963), and Rodrigues v. State, 52 Haw. 156, 472 P.2d 509 (1970), WRC contends that it does not need a drainage easement because, as an upslope landowner, it is entitled to discharge reasonable amounts of surface runoff water along the natural course and flow of the terrain which empties onto the Wailea Elua property. Under the reasonable use rule cited by WRC, each possessor of land may interfere with the natural flow of surface water for the development of his land so long as such interference is not unreasonable under the circumstances of the particular case. Rodrigues, 52 Haw. at 164-65, 472 P.2d at 516. WRC's second argument is dependent upon its first argument: because WRC is entitled to discharge reasonable amounts of surface water downslope, the Association has not shown that the pipes are strictly necessary, see supra note 8, for the enjoyment of the golf course. Therefore, according to WRC, the evidence is insufficient to support an implied easement claim. To support these two arguments [hereinafter, collectively, the reasonable use rule], WRC relies upon evidence produced at trial, discussed infra, that the upslope water was being drained through the culverts under Wailea Alanui Drive into a natural drainage way on the Wailea Elua portion of the property and was diverted by the drainpipes once it reached the Wailea Elua property in order to build buildings on the natural drainage plain of Wailea Elua. Such evidence suggests that: (1) the purpose of the pipes on the Wailea Elua property was solely to benefit Wailea Elua rather than for the benefit of draining the mauka properties; and (2) the mauka waters may have flowed towards the direction of the natural drainage way on Wailea Elua irrespective of any mauka development. As the Association points out, there are two significant problems with WRC's arguments. First, WRC is raising the reasonable use argument for the first time on appeal. Legal issues not raised in the trial court are ordinarily deemed waived on appeal. See Molinar v. Schweizer, 95 Hawai`i 331, 339-40, 22 P.3d 978, 986-87 (2001); Kawamata Farms, Inc. v. United Agri Products, 86 Hawai`i 214, 248-49, 948 P.2d 1055, 1089-90 (1997); Mauna Kea Power Co., Inc. v. Board of Land and Natural Resources, 76 Hawai`i 259, 262, 874 P.2d 1084 n. 2, 76 Hawai`i 259, 874 P.2d 1084, 1087 n. 2 (1994). Second, in order to buttress its legal argument, WRC is relying upon evidence presented after the summary judgment proceeding. When reviewing a summary judgment, an appellate court's consideration of the record is limited to those materials that were considered by the trial court in ruling on the motion. Munoz v. Yuen, 66 Haw. 603, 605-06, 670 P.2d 825, 827 (1983). Thus, this court will not examine evidence not specifically called to the attention of the trial court. Id. at 606, 670 P.2d at 827; see also Leary v. Poole, 5 Haw.App. 596, 599, 705 P.2d 62, 65 (1985). In its reply brief, WRC relies upon Fujioka v. Kam, 55 Haw. 7, 514 P.2d 568 (1973), for its contention that, although this court is limited [in its consideration] to the submissions of fact before it at the [summary judgment] motion, it is well-established law that an appellate court may rely upon other legal bases in its review of the summary judgment. (Emphases in original.) In other words, WRCfor the first time in its reply briefcites Fujioka for the proposition that, even if this court did not consider subsequently-admitted facts in reviewing the summary judgment ruling, this court may still review the ruling using an alternative legal theory. In Fujioka, the plaintiff was injured when a portion of the roof of a supermarket fell on her; she sued the owners of the building, who in turn filed a third-party complaint against the engineer and contractor who had designed and constructed the building, respectively. Fujioka, 55 Haw. at 8, 514 P.2d at 569. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the engineer and contractor on the ground that HRS § 657-8 absolved them from liability because their services were rendered more than ten years before the incident. Id. at 8-9, 514 P.2d at 569. Considering legal arguments raised by the owners for the first time on appeal, this court agreed that HRS § 657-8 violated the owners' right to equal protection because it treated them differently than the engineer and contractor by exposing the owners, but not the contractor and engineer, to liability. See id. at 9-12, 514 P.2d at 569-71. In deciding to exercise its discretion to consider the owners' argument despite the fact that they had not presented it to the trial court, this court looked to whether the consideration of the issue requires additional facts[;] whether the resolution of the question will affect the integrity of the findings of fact of the trial court; and whether the question is of great public import. Id. at 9, 514 P.2d at 570; Reasoning that the question of the constitutionality of the statute was a purely legal question that did not require additional facts and was of great public import, this court decided to address the owners' argument. Id. at 9-10, 514 P.2d at 570; see also Bertelmann v. Taas Assocs., 69 Haw. 95, 103, 735 P.2d 930, 935 (1987) (A judgment will not ordinarily be reversed based on a theory an appellant failed to raise at the trial level unless justice so requires. Because the existence of the Survivors' cause of action is of public importance and does not require additional facts, though, we will consider this issue.). Unlike Fujioka, full consideration of the reasonable use rule raised by WRC in this appeal will require additional facts, as illustrated by the fact that WRC itself relied on evidence adduced at trial to present its argument on appeal. Moreover, unlike Fujioka, the constitutionality of a statute is not at issue in the instant case. Furthermore, WRC does not explain why justice requires this court to address a newly-raised issue, and the question whether WRC is the holder of an implied easement in the Wailea Elua property is not of great public import. For the foregoing reasons, we decline to address WRC's argument, raised for the first time on appeal, that the reasonable use rule implicated by Carter and Rodrigues is applicable to this case.