HAWSCT Agrees To Review Eminent Domain Case: Larger Parcel, Interest, And Reducing The Deposit

by Robert Thomas, InverseCondemnation, August 23, 2016

In a case we've been following in which the County of Kauai is condemning several Hanalei-area parcels to expand an adjacent public beach park, the Hawaii Supreme Court has accepted certiorari and agreed to review these three questions:

QUESTION NO. 1.: Must two parcels physically abut in order for the jury to consider whether they are part of a larger parcel?

QUESTION NO. 2: Where there are multiple properties being condemned from different owners, does statutory interest on a conditional deposit only accrue after each condemnee establishes an entitlement to its portion of the deposit?

QUESTION NO. 3: Does Haw.Rev.Stat. § 101-19 enable a condemnor to withdraw a portion of its estimate of just compensation after deposit with the Court and after taking possession of the property?

We filed an amici brief on Question 1, arguing that "[t]wo parcels need not abut in order for an eminent domain jury to consider whether they are components of a larger parent tract."

The cert briefs are posted here. The Court of Appeals opinion under review is here. Under Hawaii's appellate process, no more briefs are filed after the court accepts certiorari review, unless the court asks for them. 

The court will hear oral arguments, so stay tuned.

PDF: Order Accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, County of Kauai v. Hanalei River Holdings Ltd., No. SCW...