Opinion ID: 2584287
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Ohs' Claim Against Kiuchi

Text: The ICA affirmed the circuit court's grant of summary judgement in favor of Kiuchi on the basis that an escrow agent's duty of disclosure is limited to agreements or instructions imposing such a duty, and there is no evidence of any such agreement or instructions in this case. We agree that Kiuchi did not owe a duty of disclosure to the Ohs under the facts of this case. See supra Sections I.A.3 and I.B.2. However, we caution attorneys about the potential for conflicts of interest in situations such as this where an attorney for one party also purports to act as escrow for the transaction between the attorney's client and another party. See Hawai`i Rules of Professional Responsibility Rule 1.7(b).