Lipcon v. Maliko Coffee Cottages

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: January 14, 2026
• Docket: CAAP-25-0000405
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 14-JAN-2026 10:44 AM Dkt. 60 ORD

NOS. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAIʻI

LAUREN LIPCON, Plaintiff/Counterclaim Defendant-Appellant, v. MALIKO COFFEE COTTAGES, MAURICE SMITH, SYDNEY SMITH, and MURPHY TAUA, individual/business, Defendants/Counterclaimants-Appellees, and HANA A. VANDERVOORT, JOSEPH B. JACOBS, ANDREW S. FISHER, ELLEN M. FISHER, and COUNTY OF MAUI, Counterclaimants-Appellees.

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 2CCV-XX-XXXXXXX)

ORDER (1) DENYING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE APPEALS AND (2) DISMISSING CASE NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX (By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Leonard and McCullen, JJ.)

Upon consideration of Plaintiff-Appellant Lauren

Lipcon's (Lipcon) December 14, 2025 motion to consolidate CAAP-

XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX (Motion to Consolidate), the

papers in support, and the record in case numbers CAAP-25-

0000305 and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, it appears that: NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

1. Lipcon seeks to consolidate the appeals in case

numbers CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX;

2. In case number CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Lipcon appealed

from the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit's April 1, 2025

oral ruling on her December 21, 2023 "Motion to Compel

Arbitration of Amended Counterclaim" (Motion to Compel

Arbitration) filed in 2CCV-XX-XXXXXXX;

3. On April 14, 2025, the circuit court reduced the

oral ruling to a written order denying Lipcon's Motion to Compel

Arbitration (Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration);

4. The Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration is

a final, appealable order under Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes § 658A-

28(a)(1) (2016) and Hawaiʻi Rules of Appellate Procedure (HRAP)

Rule 4(a)(2), and both appeals are from the Order Denying Motion

to Compel Arbitration. The notice of appeal in CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX,

though premature, is deemed timely-filed under HRAP

Rule 4(a)(2), and the notice of appeal in CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX was

timely-filed under HRAP Rule 4(b)(1); and

5. Therefore, the appeal in case number CAAP-25-

0000405 is duplicative and unnecessary, as the court will review

the Order Denying Motion to Compel Arbitration in case number

CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX. Accordingly, we will sua sponte dismiss the

appeal in case number CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, rendering the request for

consolidation moot. See Ogeone v. Au, Nos. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and

2 NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, 2019 WL 972542, at *1 (App. Feb. 27, 2019)

(Order).

Thus, IT IS ORDERED that the appeal in case number

CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX is dismissed as unnecessary, and all pending

motions in CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX are dismissed as moot.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion to Consolidate

in CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX is denied as moot.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the appellate clerk shall

file this order in case numbers CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-25-

0000405.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, January 14, 2026.

/s/ Karen T. Nakasone Chief Judge

/s/ Katherine G. Leonard Associate Judge

/s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen Associate Judge