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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 2
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  URGING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL AND PLAINTIFFS TO AMICABLY AND
    INFORMALLY RESOLVE, THROUGH MEDIATION, NEGOTIATION, AND
    SETTLEMENT, KALIMA V. STATE OF HAWAII, CIVIL NO. 99-4771-
    12 VSM, PENDING BEFORE THE FIRST CIRCUIT COURT.


 1        WHEREAS, Chapter 674, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS),
 2   established a process to resolve individual claims of breaches
 3   of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust which occurred between
 4   August 21, 1959, and June 30, 1988; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, 2,752 native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the
 7   Hawaiian Home Lands Trust filed their claims with the Hawaiian
 8   Claims Office, as established by Chapter 674, HRS, by the
 9   statutory deadline of August 30, 1995; and
10   
11        WHEREAS, 418 claimants completed the Hawaiian Home Lands
12   Individual Claims Review Process as established under Chapter
13   674, HRS, and received favorable recommendations from the
14   Individual Claims Review Panel, some of whom have been waiting
15   since 1997 for legislative approval of their damages awards;
16   and
17   
18        WHEREAS, another 1,376 claimants were still waiting for
19   their claims to be processed when Governor Cayetano vetoed
20   legislation that would have extended the life of the Hawaiian
21   Claims Office for one more year to complete its work; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, although they were not responsible for any delay
24   in the processing of their claims, claimants were forced to go
25   to circuit court by December 31, 1999, in order to preserve
26   their claims because the State failed to timely process and/or
27   award them compensation; and
28   
29        WHEREAS, claimants who have now been waiting up to six
30   years for any resolution of their claims, must now endure a
31   lengthy and costly court battle with the State; and
32   
33        WHEREAS, currently, a case entitled Kalima v. State of
34   Hawaii, Civil No. 99-4771-12 VSM, is pending in the First
35   Circuit Court on this very matter; and

 
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 1   
 2        WHEREAS, continued and protracted litigation will not only
 3   adversely affect the interests of the claimants, but also force
 4   the State to incur significant litigation costs and attorneys'
 5   fees regardless of the outcome of the litigation; now,
 6   therefore,
 7   
 8        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 9   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
10   Representatives concurring, that the Attorney General and the
11   plaintiffs are urged to amicably and informally resolve,
12   through mediation, negotiation, and settlement, Kalima v. State
13   of Hawaii, Civil No. 99-4771-12 VSM, pending in the First
14   Circuit Court; and
15   
16        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
17   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the
18   Attorney General, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Native
19   Hawaiian Legal Corporation, the State Council of Hawaiian
20   Homestead Associations, and the plaintiffs co-counsel,
21   Thomas R. Grande and Carl Varady.