KHON2 6/30/2020
The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Native Hawaiians seeking damages over decades of waiting for homestead leases.
Known as the Kalima case, it is one of the longest running court battles over how the state administers the homelands trust.
The class-action suit was filed in 1999 with 2,700 plaintiffs.
Ten years later, in 2009, a lower court found the state liable for damages but nothing has been paid while the ruling was on appeal to the supreme court.
Now an administrative process can get underway to determine what each of the thousands of plaintiffs is owed.
The court said “The State of Hawaii has done little to address the ever-lengthening waitlist… Native Hawaiian beneficiaries….as a result of the state’s mismanagement of the trust, have languished.â€
More:
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/hawaii-supreme-court-rules-state-must-pay-native-hawaiians-damages/
