Kahale v. City and County of Honolulu

90 P.3d 233, 104 Haw. 341, 2004 Haw. LEXIS 337
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 2004
Docket23934
StatusPublished
Cited by63 cases

This text of 90 P.3d 233 (Kahale v. City and County of Honolulu) 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
Kahale v. City and County of Honolulu, 90 P.3d 233, 104 Haw. 341, 2004 Haw. LEXIS 337 (haw 2004).

Opinions

Opinion of the Court by

LEVINSON, J.

The plaintiffs-appellants Francis Kahale, Jr. (Francis), individually, and Rachael Ka-hale (Rachael), individually and as next friend of Brandzie Kahale (Brandzie), a minor [collectively, the “Plaintiffs”], appeal from (1) the September 29, 2000 order of the first circuit court, the Honorable Sabrina S. McKenna presiding, granting the motion of the defendant-appellee City and County of Honolulu (the “City”) for summary judgment, and (2) the November 9, 2000 judgment, signed by Judge McKenna, in favor of the City and against the Plaintiffs. On appeal, the Plaintiffs contend that, inasmuch as they brought suit against the City pursuant to Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 657-7 (1993),1 the circuit court erred in concluding that the statute of limitations governing their claims was not tolled by the provisions. of HRS § 657-13(1) (1993).2 In response, the City argues that the Plaintiffs actually brought their claim against the City pursuant to HRS § 662-4 (1993),3 rather than HRS [343]*343§ 657-7, and that HRS § 657-13 does not apply to actions commenced under HRS § 662-4, such that the statute of limitations was not subject to the tolling provisions of HRS § 657-13 and had run over a year prior to the date on which the Plaintiffs filed their complaint.

We hold that HRS § 46-72 (1993)4 is the statute of limitations applicable to the present matter. We therefore overrule the holding of Salavea v. City and County of Honolulu, 55 Haw. 216, 221, 517 P.2d 51, 54-55 (1973), that, with respect to tort claims against the counties of this state, “HRS § 662-4 is the applicable statute of limitations, superseding HRS § 46-72[.]” We also hold, pursuant to HRS § 657-13(1), that the counties of this state are subject to the infancy tolling provision generally applied in personal injury actions and that HRS § 657-13(1) tolled the running of the statute of limitations as to Brandzie’s claims. Lastly, we hold that, inasmuch as Francis and Rachael, as individuals, suffered no disability for purposes of HRS § 657-13, Francis’s and Rachael’s claims, in their individual capacities, were not similarly tolled. Accordingly, we (1) vacate the circuit court’s (a) September 29, 2000 order granting the City’s motion for summary judgment as to Rachael’s claims in her capacity as Brandzie’s next friend and (b) November 9, 2000 judgment in favor of the City and against Rachael as Brandzie’s next friend, (2) affirm the circuit court’s (a) September 29, 2000 order granting the City’s motion for summary judgment against Francis, generally, and Rachael, in her individual capacity, and (b) November 9, 2000 judgment against Francis, generally, and Rachael, in her individual capacity, and (3) remand this matter to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

The Plaintiffs’ complaint alleges the following. On May 26, 1996, Brandzie (who apparently was two months shy of seven years of age at the time) was lawfully on the premises of Waimánalo District Park, where she was attacked by a pit bull dog owned by the third-party defendant-appellee Alfred H. Alameda. As a result of the attack, she suffered bodily injury and emotional distress.

On March 11, 1999, Brandzie’s parents, Francis, in his individual capacity, and Rachael, individually and as Brandzie’s next friend, filed a complaint against the City, alleging that the City’s negligence legally caused injuries to Brandzie (Count I) and inflicted emotional distress and loss of consortium on Francis and Rachael (Count II).5 [344]*344Additionally, the Plaintiffs sought punitive damages against the City (Count III).

On April 13, 1999, the City filed a third-party complaint against Alameda, praying for contribution with respect to any judgment that the Plaintiffs might obtain against the City. On April 17, 2000, the Plaintiffs filed a cross-claim against Alameda, alleging that Alameda breached his duty to prevent his canine from causing Brandzie’s injuries and further that Alameda’s negligence had caused Francis and Rachael to suffer loss of consortium and the infliction of emotional distress. On April 20, 2000, the City filed a counterclaim against Francis and Rachael in their individual capacities, alleging that any injuries and/or damages to the Plaintiffs were the result of negligence or wrongful conduct on Francis’s and Rachael’s part.

On August 23, 2000, the City filed a motion for summary judgment against the Plaintiffs, arguing that HRS § 662-4, see supra note 3, a provision of HRS chapter 662, the State Tort Liability Act (STLA), barred all of the Plaintiffs’ claims against the City because the Plaintiffs had not brought them within the two-year period of the applicable statute of limitations.

On December 8, 2000, the Plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal from the circuit court’s September 29, 2000 order granting the City’s motion for summary judgment and the November 9, 2000 final judgment in favor of the City and against the Plaintiffs.

On November 16, 2000, the Plaintiffs filed a motion to stay proceedings,6 which the circuit court granted on December 26, 2000.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review the circuit court’s grant or denial of summary judgment de novo. Hawai'i Community Federal Credit Union v. Keka, 94 Hawai'i 213, 221, 11 P.3d 1, 9 (2000). The standard for granting a motion for summary judgment is settled:
[S]ummary judgment is appropriate if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. A fact is material if proof of that fact would have the effect of establishing or refuting one of the essential elements of a cause of action or defense asserted by the parties. The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. In other words, we must view all of the evidence and the inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
90 P.3d 233, 104 Haw. 341, 2004 Haw. LEXIS 337, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kahale-v-city-and-county-of-honolulu-haw-2004.