Noa v. Kawano

• Court: Hawaii Supreme Court
• Decided: December 4, 2014
• Docket: SCPW-14-0001320
• Status: Published

Opinion

Electronically Filed Supreme Court SCPW-14-0001320 04-DEC-2014 09:14 AM

SCPW-14-0001320

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

HENRY M. NOA, Petitioner,

vs.

THE HONORABLE KELSEY T. KAWANO, Judge of the District Court of the Second Circuit, State of Hawai#i, Respondent Judge,

and

STATE OF HAWAI#I, Respondent.

ORIGINAL PROCEEDING (CASE NO. 2DCW-14-0000523)

ORDER DENYING PETITION FOR WRIT OF MANDAMUS (By: Recktenwald, C.J., Nakayama, McKenna, Pollack, and Wilson, JJ.)

Upon consideration of Petitioner Henry M. Noa’s petition for a writ of mandamus, filed on November 24, 2014, and the record, it appears that Petitioner fails to demonstrate that he has a clear and indisputable right to the requested relief, that he lacks alternative means to seek relief, or that the Respondent Judge committed a flagrant and manifest abuse of discretion in denying the motion to dismiss and setting the matter for trial. Petitioner, therefore, is not entitled to a writ of mandamus. See Kema v. Gaddis, 91 Hawai#i 200, 204, 982 P.2d 334, 338 (1999) (a writ of mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that will not issue unless the petitioner demonstrates a clear and indisputable right to relief and a lack of alternative means to redress adequately the alleged wrong or obtain the requested action); Honolulu Advertiser, Inc. v. Takao, 59 Haw. 237, 241, 580 P.2d 58, 62 (1978) (a writ of mandamus is not intended to supersede the legal discretionary authority of the trial courts, cure a mere legal error, or serve as a legal remedy in lieu of normal appellate procedure; rather, it is meant to restrain a judge of an inferior court who has exceeded his or her jurisdiction, has committed a flagrant and manifest abuse of discretion, or has refused to act on a subject properly before the court under circumstances in which he or she has a legal duty to act). Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition for a writ of mandamus is denied. DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, December 4, 2014. /s/ Mark E. Recktenwald /s/ Paula A. Nakayama /s/ Sabrina S. McKenna /s/ Richard W. Pollack /s/ Michael D. Wilson