ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES DA KINE BAIL BONDS AND SAFETY NATIONAL CASUALTY CORPORATION TO ENFORCE JUDGMENTS

News Release from Office of the Attorney General July 13, 2016

HONOLULU – Attorney General Doug Chin announced today that his office has filed petitions to enforce judgments against Da Kine Bail Bonds, Inc. (Da Kine) and Safety National Casualty Corporation (Safety) for forfeited bail bonds those companies failed to pay to the State of Hawaii (State).

Da Kine owes the State thirty-five thousand five hundred dollars ($35,500) from 21 separate criminal cases. Duane “Dog” Chapman is the president and director of Da Kine. Safety is the surety that is obligated to pay if Da Kine defaults.

Attorney General Doug Chin said “Bail bond companies promise to pay us when their clients skip court. Simply put, if they don’t pay we have to hunt down that money.”

Bail is a financial arrangement that a bail bonding agency makes on behalf of a criminal defendant. A bail bonding agency works with the court to have a defendant released from jail pending trial in exchange for money or collateral. This collateral can be in the form of cash, assets, or a bond. The bail agency is then responsible for ensuring that the defendant arrives in court on the day of trial. If the defendant does not appear in court, the court may forfeit the bond and the entire bail amount must be paid to the court by the bail bonding agency.

Today’s action against Da Kine and Safety resulted from a joint effort by the State Judiciary and the Department of the Attorney General to sue various bail bond companies in Hawaii for non-payment of forfeiture of bail bonds. Other bail bond companies are also being reviewed. Of the bail bond companies that the Judiciary and Attorney General have looked into, seven paid the Judiciary approximately seven hundred thousand dollars ($700,000) upon receiving notice. Those companies are not subject to today’s action.

Petitions filed with the Circuit Court, Family Court, and District Court are attached. A hearing date of August 17, 2016 has been set by the Circuit Court. Hearing dates for the Family Court and District Court have not yet been determined.

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PDF: Full Text of Lawsuit