HART Counterclaim and Response to Hitachi’s Lawsuit

News Release from HART, Dec 11, 2025

The Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) has filed in court its response to Hitachi’s November 17, 2025 lawsuit against HART wherein Hitachi seeks millions of dollars in damages from HART for alleged project delays which Hitachi attributes to HART.

HART’s court filings include a Counterclaim against Hitachi that seeks a determination that Hitachi’s delay claim is not only substantially unfounded but that Hitachi has breached its contract with HART and has violated HRS § 46-171(a), Hawaii’s False Claim Act, by knowingly making and using false statements and/or false records material to and in support of its claim.

The court dismissed Hitachi’s prior lawsuit for failure to submit its claims to HART before initiating litigation.

Following the court dismissal, and on November 14, 2025, HART’s Contracting Officer, Lori Kahikina, issued a 64-page Contracting Officer’s Decision addressing each one of Hitachi’s claims. The Contracting Officer’s Decision is a matter of public record.

HART’s Contracting Officer’s Decision rejected the vast majority of Hitachi’s claims as unsubstantiated and further determined that Hitachi had grossly manipulated its schedules to mask Hitachi’s own delays to blame HART.

HART’s Counterclaim asserting that Hitachi violated Hawaii’s False Claim Act further expands upon the findings by the Contracting Officer that Hitachi manipulated its own schedules and submitted false and misleading information to HART in support of a false claim. HART seeks millions of dollars in damages from Hitachi based on Hitachi’s significant delays.

Under Hawaii’s False Claim Act, HART is entitled to triple damages as well as civil penalties for violations of the Act.