Court Opinion

ID: 9550824
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 18:43:05.244469+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:22:31.040229
License: Public Domain

DISSENTING OPINION OF
MARUMOTO, J.
I dissent. The majority of this court now adopts the view of Mr. Justice Abe in his concurring opinion in Oakley v. State, 54 Haw. 210, 219, 505 P.2d 1182, 1188 (1973), that the six-month notice requirement of HRS § 46-72 for the bringing of a tort action against a county has been superseded by the two-year limitation in HRS § 662-4 applicable to tort action under HRS c. 662, State Tort Liability Act.
Under the State Tort Liability Act, the State has waived its immunity from liability for torts of its employees. The Act defines a State employee as including officers and employees of any State agency, and defines State agency as including the executive departments, boards, and commissions of the State.
A county, including the City and County of Honolulu, is not an executive department, board, or commission of the State.
The majority opinion involves serious consequence to one who has a tort claim against a county, for under the State Tort Liability Act there can be no jury trial.