Ho v. Department of Health

542 P.3d 1276, 153 Haw. 581

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: February 12, 2024
• Docket: CAAP-19-0000493
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 12-FEB-2024 07:52 AM Dkt. 74 SO

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

KAREN J. HO, Appellant-Appellant, v. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, STATE OF HAWAI#I; MERIT APPEALS BOARD, STATE OF HAWAI#I; DWIGHT TAKENO; LAURIE SANTIAGO; and VALERIE PACHECO (MAB CASE NO. 362), Appellees-Appellees

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 1CC181001148)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER (By: Leonard, Acting Chief Judge, and McCullen, J.; and Circuit Judge Tonaki, in place of Hiraoka, Wadsworth, Nakasone, and Guidry, JJ., all recused)

Appellant-Appellant Karen J. Ho (Ho) appeals from the

June 19, 2019 Judgment (Judgment) entered by the Circuit Court of

the First Circuit (Circuit Court)1 in favor of Appellees-

Appellees Department of Health, State of Hawai#i (DOH) Merit

Appeals Board, State of Hawai#i, Dwight Takeno, Laurie Santiago,

and Valerie Pacheco (MAB Case No. 362). Ho also challenges the

June 19, 2019 Order Affirming Merit Appeals Board [(MAB)] Order

1 The Honorable James H. Ashford presided. NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Dismissing Appeal Dated 06/26/18 (Order Affirming Dismissal). Ho

seeks relief from the MAB's determination that she has no

standing to challenge DOH's April 30, 2004 classification action

for the DOH Comprehensive Health Planning Coordinator (Planning

Coordinator) position (Reclassification).

Ho raises fifteen points of error on appeal, contending

that: (1) "the Circuit Court erred in determining, without

findings, that the MAB was correct in determining that [Ho] did

not have standing and/or that MAB was without jurisdiction to

review [Ho's] administrative appeal"; (2) the Circuit Court erred

in the Judgment because Ho "properly challenged" the

Reclassification; (3) Ho properly submitted her December 21, 2016

HRD 259 form, Request for Administrative Review of Classification

Action (Request), regarding the [Reclassification] for position

no. 24342; (4) the Request was wrongfully rejected by DOH based

on the date it was filed without "evaluating any notice of final

action"; (5) Ho properly appealed to the MAB on January 25, 2017;

(6) Ho properly objected to the Reclassification; (7) Ho properly

raised issues as to the Reclassification that were unanswered by

the MAB; (8) Ho properly objected to DOH's December 30, 2016

rejection of her Request; (9) the MAB wrongly concluded that Ho

had no standing because she was not occupying the position of

Planning Coordinator when the 2004 HRD-1 was signed; (10) the MAB

failed to grant her relief by "finding that she was disqualified

from raising the challenge"; (11) Ho timely appealed to the

Circuit Court and properly challenged the MAB's finding that she

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

had no standing to challenge her rejected Request; (12) the MAB

erred in finding that DOH committed no legal wrong in light of

Sussel v. Civil Serv. Comm'n of City and Cnty. of Honolulu, 74

Haw. 599, 851 P.2d 311 (1993); (13) in her Reply Brief to the

Circuit Court, Ho reiterated her objections to the MAB's

determination that notice of the Reclassification occurred and

that she acknowledged that notice occurred; (14) Ho's position

should be reclassified as Comprehensive Health Planning Officer

and awarded retroactive pay and retirement benefits; and (15) the Circuit Court erred in affirming MAB's finding that Ho "does not

have standing to challenge" the Reclassification.

Upon careful review of the record and the briefs

submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to

the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we

resolve Ho's points of error as follows:

Ho was appointed to the Planning Coordinator position

on April 6, 2005. The classification action she was requesting

to be administratively reviewed was taken on April 30, 2004,

almost a year before she took the position. We conclude that MAB

did not err in finding and concluding that Ho did not have

standing to appeal the April 30, 2004 classification action to

the MAB because Ho was not in the Planning Coordinator position

as of the effective date of the classification action.

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

Accordingly, the Circuit Court's June 19, 2019 Judgment

is affirmed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, February 12, 2024.

On the briefs: /s/ Katherine G. Leonard Acting Chief Judge Richard L. Holcomb, (Holcomb Law, LLLC), /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen for Appellant-Appellant. Associate Judge

James E. Halvorson, /s/ John M. Tonaki Deputy Attorney General, Circuit Judge for Appellee-Appellee, Department of Health, State of Hawai#i.