U.S. Bank Trust, N.A. v. Freitas, Jr.

• Court: Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals
• Decided: November 21, 2025
• Docket: CAAP-24-0000084
• Status: Published

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX 21-NOV-2025 08:05 AM Dkt. 34 OGMD NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI I

U.S. BANK TRUST, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR LSF9 MASTER PARTICIPATION TRUST, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ROBERT FREITAS, JR., aka ROBERT FREITAS, Defendant-Appellant, and STATE OF HAWAI I, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND HOUSING; STATE OF HAWAI I, DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION; KONA PALISADES ESTATES COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, Defendants-Appellees, and DOES 1 through 20, inclusive, Defendants

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT (CIVIL NO. 3CC18100175K)

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL (By: Nakasone, Chief Judge, Leonard and Hiraoka, JJ.) Upon consideration of the October 22, 2025 Plaintiff-

Appellee's Motion for: (1) Determination That Property Has Been

Conveyed to a Bona Fide Third Party Purchaser; (2) Determination

That Defendant-Appellant's Appeal is Moot; and (3) Dismissal of

Instant Appeal as Moot (Motion to Dismiss), filed by Plaintiff-

Appellee U.S. Bank Trust, N.A., as Trustee for LSF9 Master

Participation Trust (US Bank), the papers in support, noting no

opposition, and the record, it appears that:

On July 21, 2025, the Circuit Court of the Third

Circuit, Kona Division (Circuit Court), entered an Amended Order

Approving Commissioner's Report and Granting Plaintiff's Renewed NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Motion for Confirmation of Foreclosure Sale, Allowance of Costs,

Commissions and Fees, Distribution of Process, Directing

Conveyance and for Writ of Possession/Ejectments [Dkt. 203]

(Amended Order) and an Amended Judgment thereon [Dkt. 205]. In

the Amended Order, the Circuit Court determined, inter alia, that

the buyer of the subject property was a bona fide good faith

purchaser of the property, without any affiliation to US Bank or

its agents or any other party in this action. No appeal was

taken from the Amended Order and Amended Judgment. No

supersedeas bond was posted and no stay has been ordered.

When a defendant appeals from a foreclosure case, but

fails to post a supersedeas bond or otherwise obtain a stay of

the foreclosure, and the property is subsequently sold to a bona

fide purchaser at a judicial sale, the appeal is moot. See Bank

of New York Mellon v. R. Onaga, Inc., 140 Hawai i 358, 400 P.3d

559 (2017) ("The general rule is that the right of a good faith

purchaser to receive property acquired at a judicial sale cannot

be affected by the reversal of an order ratifying the sale where

a supersedeas bond has not been filed.").

In accordance with the Circuit Court's relevant

findings and conclusions, and pursuant to the holding in Onaga,

we conclude that this appeal is moot.

Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the October 22,

2025 Motion to Dismiss is granted, and the appeal is dismissed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai i, November 21, 2025.

/s/ Karen T. Nakasone Chief Judge

/s/ Katherine G. Leonard Associate Judge

/s/ Keith K. Hiraoka Associate Judge