Figueroa v. State

604 P.2d 1198
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 26, 1980
Docket6437
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 604 P.2d 1198 (Figueroa v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Figueroa v. State, 604 P.2d 1198 (haw 1980).

Opinion

604 P.2d 1198 (1979)

Michael FIGUEROA, a minor, by his next friend, Louis Figueroa, and Individually, Louis Figueroa and Shirley Pimental, Plaintiffs-Appellees, Cross-Appellants,
v.
STATE of Hawaii, Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee.

No. 6437.

Supreme Court of Hawaii.

December 31, 1979.
Reconsideration Denied January 29, 1980.
As Amended February 26, 1980.

*1199 Charlotte E. Libman, Deputy Atty. Gen., Honolulu (Charles F. Fell and Nelson S.W. Chang, Deputy Attys. Gen., Honolulu, with her on the briefs), for defendant-appellant, cross-appellee.

David W. Hall, Honolulu (William S. Hunt, Honolulu, with him on the briefs; Hart, Leavitt, Hall & Hunt, Honolulu, of counsel), for plaintiffs-appellees, cross-appellants.

David W. Hall (Edmunds and Hall of counsel) and William S. Hunt (Hart, Leavitt & Hunt of counsel), for Plaintiffs-Appellees, Cross-Appellants, for the motion.

Before RICHARDSON, C.J., KOBAYASHI, OGATA and MENOR, JJ., and MARUMOTO, Retired Justice, in place of KIDWELL, J., absent.

*1200 OGATA, Justice.

Plaintiffs-appellees, cross-appellants, Michael Figueroa, Louis Figueroa and Shirley Pimental (hereinafter appellees) instituted an action against the defendant-appellant, cross-appellee, State of Hawaii (hereinafter appellant) to recover damages for an attempted suicide by appellee Michael Figueroa[1] while he was at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility, also known as the Koolau Boys' Home (hereinafter HYCF or Boys' Home). After a bench trial,[2] the court below found that the State was negligent in its supervision of Michael, had violated certain of his guarantees under the State and Federal Constitutions and was liable for injuries prior to and subsequently caused by his attempted hanging. Both appellant and appellees appeal from the judgment of $1,385,250.00 entered in favor of appellees. We vacate the judgment and dismiss the cross-appeal; we further remand the first cause of action of the second amended complaint for a new trial.

I

In November 1971, Michael, who was then sixteen years old and who had never run afoul of the law, was involved in three armed robberies with two other youths with whom he had become acquainted not more than two weeks prior to his apprehension. Michael had dropped out of high school in 1971, but had been employed at a car wash at the time of his involvement in the robberies. Upon adjudication as a law violator, Michael was committed by the Family Court to the Boys' Home for the period of his minority, the Family Court retaining jurisdiction over him for 30 days.

The HYCF is a juvenile home operated by the Corrections Division of the State of Hawaii under the Department of Social Services and Housing. The objectives of the facility are the "detention, management, education, employment, reformation, and maintenance" of its residents. HRS § 352-8 (1976). The HYCF is located in Kailua, on the island of Oahu, and consists of separate schools for boys and girls. The Boys' Home consists of two cottages, Kaala and Olomana. On the boys' side of the facility, there is an administration building to the right with Olomana Cottage situated on a hill to the left.

Olomana Cottage is structured around a courtyard, and its main entrance is at about the center of the building. On its right are the staff rooms, i.e., a club room, a locker room, a library, staff offices, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. To the left of the entrance, a door enters into a foyer leading into a corridor, on each side of which are five isolation rooms, ten in all, each of which has its own door. There is a shower facility within the foyer leading to the isolation rooms. Continuing around the building, there is a dormitory referred to as "B" dorm, a control room, bathroom facilities and "A" dorm.

During the time Michael was at Olomana Cottage, approximately 24 boys were assigned to that cottage. The cottage team consisted of one cottage administrator, two correctional supervisors, 11-12 correctional care workers (three per shift), one social worker and one recreational specialist. Also available at the facility were a fulltime registered nurse and a chaplain. A psychiatrist was available once or twice a week; a psychologist was available two or three times a week; a medical doctor came in once a week and a dentist came in twice a week.

At all relevant times herein, the Boys' Home employed a behavior modification program. Under the behavior modification program utilized there, a point system was established and each new admittee was given 100 points upon arrival. Under this program, desirable behavior was rewarded with points and undesirable behavior was punished by removing points. The points were used by the residents to obtain privileges — to *1201 buy sodas, to use the telephone and to be able to go home.

On March 6, 1972, Michael entered the Boys' Home and was assigned to Olomana Cottage. He was placed in "close" control classification and in an isolation room, which was standard procedure for all new admittees. The staff at the Boys' Home considered him to be a short-term commitment and Michael himself believed that he could be released in thirty days. On March 13, the Cottage Administrator, Vernon Chang (hereinafter Chang), ordered Michael to be released from isolation but Michael requested to be allowed to sleep in the isolation room and was permitted to do so. From March 20, he slept in the Olomana Cottage "A" dorm. On March 22, Michael's classification was changed to "medium" control. On numerous occasions, Michael spoke to Chang and other staff members about his placement in the Boys' Home and his desire to be released at the end of thirty days. He also told staff members that "he didn't belong with this type of boys." On April 3, 1972, another resident informed Chang of Michael's plan to "overpower the staff ... and lock them in the chiller" in order to escape. Michael was restricted to cottage confinement as a result of the discovery of his escape plan. On or about April 11, 1972, a determination was made by the HYCF that Michael was a regular commitment. Chang told Michael that his commitment was changed from short-term to regular, which would be for the duration of his minority. During his stay at the Boys' Home, Michael was on several occasions punched, slapped and beaten by other residents and although the staff did not observe most of the beatings, on at least one occasion, a staff member observed such beating and did not stop it. Michael was forced by some of the other residents to wash their clothes and do their chores.

The critical date in this narrative is April 11, 1972. This was the first day that Michael attended school which is on the grounds of the Boys' Home. A bus took the boys to school and returned them to their cottage for lunch. When the bus returned to Olomana Cottage shortly after 11 o'clock a.m., Michael got off the bus and ran. Four other residents who were also on the bus chased Michael and apprehended him approximately 400 or 500 yards away in a nearby residential area and proceeded to punch and slap him while restraining him. Two staff members followed in a car. While returning to the Boys' Home with the boys who apprehended him and the two staff members, Michael pleaded not to be placed in isolation and struggled with his captors.

When he was returned to Olomana Cottage, Michael's lip was cut and there was some blood on his lips.

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Bluebook (online)
604 P.2d 1198, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/figueroa-v-state-haw-1980.