Opinion ID: 2633532
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: An Overview of the Requirements and Procedures of HRS Chapter 674

Text: HRS chapter 674 [20] is divided into three parts: (1) Purpose and Definitions (Part I), HRS §§ 674-1 and -2; (2) Individual Claims Review Panel (Part II (administrative process)), HRS §§ 674-3 through -15; and (3) Judicial Relief for Retroactive Claims by Individual Native Hawaiians (Part III (judicial process)), HRS §§ 674-16 through -21. The chapter creates a two-part process whereby claims must first be brought before an administrative panel, and, if the remedy provided is unacceptable to the claimant, the claim may be brought in circuit court. Part II of Chapter 674 is the codification of the administrative process promulgated by the legislature via Act 323 and provides in pertinent part: [§ 674-3] Establishment of the board of individual claims resolution. There shall be a Hawaiian home lands trust individual claims review panel to be composed of five members[.] § 674-4 [(Supp.1999)] Tenure and compensation of members. The term of office of each member of the [P]anel shall be until December 31, 1999[.] . . . . § 674-6 Rulemaking powers. The [P]anel shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 prescribing the procedures to be followed in the filing of claims and in the proceedings for review of claims[.] § 674-7 Review by panel required. Any individual beneficiary under the trust claiming actual damages arising out of or resulting from a breach of trust which occurred between August 21, 1959, and June 30, 1988, and which was caused by an act or omission of an employee of the State in the management and disposition of trust resources under the trust, shall file a claim therefor for review by the [P]anel no later than August 31, 1995, or shall forever be barred. [§ 674-8] Powers and procedures of the [P]anel. (a) The [P]anel may hold hearings or such other proceedings as it deems necessary[.] . . . . (d) The [P]anel may appoint a hearings officer or officers . . . to hear any claims and render recommended findings. (e) Upon written acceptance by a claimant... the [P]anel shall disburse any compensation awarded by the legislature and undertake such other action as provided by law. § 674-9 Panel hearing or review proceedings; fact-finding; evidence. . . . All proceedings shall be informal. . . . For the purpose of this chapter, the [P]anel shall prepare a record of each claim. The record shall include: .... (7) The [P]anel findings and advisory opinion. . . . . § 674-10 Findings and advisory opinion. (a) The [P]anel shall prepare findings and an advisory opinion concerning the probable merits of a claim, probable award of compensation, or recommended corrective action by the State. . . . . (c) The advisory opinion of the [P]anel rendered on each claim shall be incorporated in the reports ... for submission to the legislature. § 674-11 Subsequent litigation; excluded evidence. No statement made in the course of any investigation, hearing, or review proceedings of the [P]anel shall be admissible in evidence ... for any . . . purpose in any legal proceeding. No opinion, conclusion, finding, or recommendation of the [P]anel on the issue of liability, or on the issue of compensation, or corrective action shall be admitted into evidence in any legal proceeding, nor shall any party to the [P]anel hearing, or the counsel, or other representative of the party, refer to or comment thereon in any opening statement, any argument, or at any other time, to any court or jury. . . . . § 674-14 Annual report [(Supp.1999)]. The [P]anel shall prepare a report to be transmitted to the governor and the legislature, at least twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 1998, and a final report to be transmitted to the governor and to the legislature, at least twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 1999, which summarizes its activities in furtherance of this chapter, and shall include a summary of each claim brought before the [P]anel, the [P]anel's findings and advisory opinion regarding the merits of each claim, and an estimate of the probable compensation or recommended corrective action by the State, for action by the legislature in regular session. [§ 674-15] Limitations upon award of compensation or corrective action. No claim shall be made under this chapter for which a remedy was or is provided elsewhere under the laws of this State, which is or was the subject of pending or prior litigation, or which is predicated, in whole or in part, on an action or omission which occurred prior to August 21, 1959. . . . . (Bold emphases and some brackets in original.) (Underscored emphases added.) In sum, the administrative process requires a claimant to file a claim before the Panel by August 31, 1995. The Panel, in turn, must: (1) review the claim; (2) prepare a record that includes findings and an advisory opinion, setting forth a recommended action on each claim; (3) prepare and submit a report to the legislature; and, (4) if accepted by the claimant, disburse any compensation awarded by the legislature or undertake any other lawful action. Part III of Chapter 674 is the codification of the judicial process promulgated by the legislature via Act 323 and provides in relevant part: § 674-16 Waiver of Immunity. (a) The State waives its immunity from liability for actual damages suffered by an individual beneficiary arising out of or resulting from a breach of trust or fiduciary duty, which occurred between August 21, 1959, to June 30, 1988, and was caused by an act or omission of an employee of the State in the management and disposition of trust resources. (b) This waiver shall not apply to the following: (1) Any claim for which a remedy was or is provided elsewhere in or under the laws of the State; (2) Any claim which was or is the subject of prior or pending litigation; or (3) Any claim predicated, in whole or in part, upon any act or omission which occurred prior to August 21, 1959. § 674-17 [(1993 & Supp.1999)] Right to sue, individual claims. (a) An aggrieved individual claimant shall have the right to bring an action, in accordance with [Part III], in the circuit courts of the State for recovery of actual damages suffered by the claimant arising out of or resulting from a breach of trust which occurred between August 21, 1959, to June 30, 1988; provided that no action shall be filed until after October 1, 1997. (b) Aggrieved individual claimant, as used in this section, means an individual claimant [1] whose claim was reviewed by the [P]anel under this chapter and [2] who has filed, no later than October 1, 1999, a written notice with the [P]anel that the claimant does not accept the action taken by the legislature in regular session upon the claim. Any claimant who fails to file a written notice rejecting the action of the legislature upon the claim shall be deemed to have accepted the action taken by the legislature. [§ 674-18] Scope of Relief. In an action under this part the court may award actual damages to a successful claimant. § 674-19 [(Supp.1999)] Limitation on actions. Every claim cognizable under this part shall forever be barred unless the action is commenced by December 31, 1999. § 674-20 No implied liability or award. In no case shall any liability be implied against the State, and no award shall be made against the State on any claim brought under this part except upon legal evidence that would establish liability against an individual or corporation. (Bold emphases and some brackets in original.) (Underscored emphases added.) The judicial process, however, is not a review of the legislature's action upon the claim or the Panel's proceedings and recommendations; it is, essentially, a de novo proceeding. In sum, Part III requires that a claimant: (1) wait until after October 1, 1997 to bring suit in circuit court; (2) file a written notice with the Panel rejecting the action upon the claim by October 1, 1999; and (3) file an action upon the claim in circuit court by December 31, 1999. It is important to note here that the parties disagree as to which principle of construction this court should apply in interpreting HRS chapter 674. First, the plaintiffs contend that the chapter is remedial and should, therefore, be construed liberally. Generally, remedial statutes are those which provide a remedy, or improve or facilitate remedies already existing for the enforcement of rights and the redress of injuries. Flores v. United Air Lines, Inc., 70 Haw. 1, 12 n. 8, 757 P.2d 641, 647 n. 8 (1988) (quoting N. Singer, 3 Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 60.02 (4th ed.1986)). This court has stated that remedial statutes should be liberally construed to suppress the perceived evil and advance the enacted remedy and has disfavored narrow interpretations that impede rather than advance the remedies provided by such statutes. Flores, 70 Haw. at 12, 757 P.2d at 647 (brackets, citation, and internal quotation marks omitted); see also, Taylor v. Gov't Employees Ins. Co., 90 Hawai`i 302, 308, 978 P.2d 740, 746 (1999) (holding that motor vehicle policy coverage statute was remedial in nature and, therefore, entitled to liberal construction). Inasmuch as HRS chapter 674 establishes a process under which individual beneficiaries under the Hawaiian home lands trust may resolve claims for actual damages, HRS § 674-1, for past breaches of trust, the chapter as a whole provides a remedy for the redress of the individual beneficiaries' injuries and, thus, falls squarely within the definition of a remedial statute. Second, as the State defendants correctly note, the right-to-sue provision in Part III of Chapter 674 is part and parcel of a waiver of sovereign immunity and must be strictly construed. Taylor-Rice v. State, 105 Hawai`i 104, 110, 94 P.3d 659, 665 (2004). With the above principles in mind, we now turn to examine the issues and arguments of the parties in the instant case. We first address whether the circuit court properly granted partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on Count I of their complaint.