The Hawaii Supreme Court has been creating new real estate and land use law over recent months, e.g., HawaiiUSA Fed. Credit Union v. Monalim, No. SCWC-16-0000807 (Apr. 30, 2020) (changing foreclosure math; concurring and dissenting opinion by Nakayama, J. in which Recktenwald, C.J., joins); and Haynes v. Haas, No. SCWC-16-0000570 (May 5, 2020)…

In a 3-2 decision, decided on April 30, 2020, in Hawaiiusa Federal Credit Union v. Monalim, the Hawaii Supreme Court took the opportunity to rewrite foreclosure law from the bench. The Concurring and Dissenting Opinion (Nakayama and Recktenwald) summarizes the issue:The Majority adopts a new rule that will change Hawai‘i’s traditional method of calculating deficiency…

In the County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on April 23, 2020, the Court weighed in on a long-simmering issue: What test should apply to determine whether a permit is required under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA)?Essentially, “[t]he Clean Water Act forbids the ‘addition’ of any…

Due Process Right to a “Clean and Healthful Environment” from Jesse Souki

The Office of Environmental Quality Control (“OEQC”) and State Environmental Council (“Council”) submitted the final proposed rules to the Governor’s Office in April 2019.  Governor Ige announced that he plans to sign the rules on July 30, 2019, and the rules will take effect on August 9, 2019.The new rules will repeal the existing…

In Am. Freedom Def. Initiative v. King County, 904 F.3d 1126, 1129 (9th Cir. 2018), the court reviews King County Metro’s denial of a request to post a controversial ad on a King County Metro (hereinafter, “County” or “Metro”) bus. The court followed past decisions holding that a transit advertising program is a nonpublic forum.  Consequently, the…