Credit Corp Solutions Inc. v. Maiwela

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: June 22, 2026
• Docket: CAAP-24-0000755
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 22-JUN-2026 09:28 AM Dkt. 44 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I

CREDIT CORP SOLUTIONS INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. RUTH MAIWELA, Defendant-Appellant

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT KO‘OLAUPOKO DIVISION (CASE NO. 1DRC-XX-XXXXXXX)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Hiraoka, Presiding Judge, Wadsworth and Guidry, JJ.)

Self-represented Defendant-Appellant Ruth Maiwela

(Maiwela) appeals from the May 6, 2022 "Judgment" entered by the

District Court of the First Circuit, Ko‘olaupoko Division

(district court). 1 Maiwela filed her notice of appeal on

November 6, 2024. 2

1 The Honorable Karin Holma presided.

2 This appeal was stayed pursuant to Maiwela's filing of her "Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy," filed August 8, 2025, in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawai‘i (continued . . .) NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

As a threshold matter, we must consider the

jurisdictional question of whether Maiwela's appeal was timely

filed. See Whittaker v. Fransen, Nos. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX & CAAP-

XX-XXXXXXX, 2018 WL 4604222, at *1 (Haw. App. Sep. 25, 2018)

(SDO) (citing Hous. Fin. & Dev. Corp. v. Castle, 79 Hawai‘i 64,

76, 898 P.2d 576, 588 (1995)). "If we conclude that we do not

have appellate jurisdiction, we must dismiss the appeal." Id.

(citation omitted).

A notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days after

entry of a judgment or appealable order. See Hawai‘i Rules of

Appellate Procedure (HRAP) Rule 4(a)(1) ("When a civil appeal is

permitted by law, the notice of appeal shall be filed within 30

days after entry of the judgment or appealable order."); Hawaii

Revised Statutes (HRS) § 641-1(a), (c) (2016) ("Appeals shall be

allowed in civil matters from all final judgments, orders, or

decrees of . . . district courts . . . to the intermediate

appellate court, subject to chapter 602," and "[a]n appeal shall

be taken in the manner and within the time provided by the rules

of court."). The record reflects that Maiwela filed her notice

of appeal over two years after the district court entered the

Judgment from which she is appealing.

2(. . . continued)

(Bankruptcy Court) in case no. 25-00696. On June 22, 2026, this court filed its Order taking judicial notice of the Bankruptcy Court's "Order Dismissing Case for Unreasonable Delay," filed in case no. 25-000696, which terminated the bankruptcy stay.

2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Maiwela appears to contend that she was not given

notice that the Judgment was filed, and the district court's

"entering the judgment without notice does not start the clock

for appeal deadlines." District Court Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 77(d) provides, in pertinent part, that,

Lack of notice of the entry by the clerk, or failure to make such service, does not affect the time to appeal or relieve or authorize the court to relieve a party for failure to appeal within the time allowed, except as permitted by [HRAP] Rule 4(a).

See also Whittaker, 2018 WL 4604222, at *2 (collecting cases

which hold that "[a] party has an independent duty to keep

informed and mere failure of the clerk to notify the parties

that judgment has been entered does not provide grounds for

excusable neglect or warrant an extension of time" and that

"failure to know when a final judgment was entered does not meet

standard of 'excusable neglect'" (citations omitted)).

Maiwela does not demonstrate that the 30-day appeal deadline was

tolled pursuant to HRAP Rule 4(a)(3) or that she requested an

extension pursuant to HRAP Rule 4(a)(4).

Maiwela's notice of appeal was untimely filed.

Because the timely filing of a notice of appeal is a

jurisdictional requirement, we dismiss this appeal for lack of

jurisdiction. 3 See Bacon v. Karlin, 68 Haw. 648, 650, 727 P.2d

3 This Summary Disposition Order is a dismissal order. No subsequent judgment will be entered. See HRAP Rule 40.1(a)(1).

3 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI‘I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

1127, 1129 (1986); Grattafiori v. State, 79 Hawai‘i 10, 13, 897

P.2d 937, 940 (1995). In light of our dismissal of this appeal,

the pending motions on appeal are moot.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, June 22, 2026.

On the briefs: /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka Presiding Judge Ruth Maiwela, Self-represented /s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth Defendant-Appellant. Associate Judge

Jon Bonnesen, /s/ Kimberly T. Guidry for Plaintiff-Appellee. Associate Judge