Hawai'i Wildlife Fund v. Department of Public Works

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
21-OCT-2024
08:06 AM
Dkt. 115 SO

CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

Hawai#i WILDLIFE FUND, a non-profit
corporation, and CONSERVATION COUNCIL FOR Hawai#i,
a non-profit corporation, Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, COUNTY OF MAUI;
ROWENA M. DAGDAG-ANDAYA, in her official capacity
as Director of the DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS,
COUNTY OF MAUI; MICHAEL P. VICTORINO, in his official
capacity as MAYOR OF THE COUNTY OF MAUI; COUNTY OF MAUI,
Defendants-Appellants

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT
(CASE NO. 2CC191000053)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Leonard, Acting Chief Judge, Wadsworth and Nakasone, JJ.)

Defendants-Appellants Department of Public Works,

County of Maui; Jordan Molina, in his official capacity as

Director of the Department of Public Works, County of Maui;

Richard Bissen, in his official capacity as Mayor of the County

of Maui;1 County of Maui (collectively, Maui County) appeal from

the October 20, 2021 Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for Award

1
Pursuant to Hawai#i Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 43(c)(1),
Jordan Molina is automatically substituted for former Director of the
Department of Public Works Rowena Dagdag-Andaya and Mayor Richard Bissen is
automatically substituted for former Mayor Michael P. Victorino.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

of Attorneys' Fees and Costs (Fees Order) entered in the Circuit

Court of the Second Circuit (Circuit Court).2

Maui County raises two points of error on appeal,

contending that the Circuit Court abused its discretion: (1) in

awarding fees and costs because the court failed to identify the

principal issues raised in the complaint and proof, and failed to

determine which party prevailed on which issue; and (2) by not

apportioning fees between declaratory relief claims on which

Plaintiffs-Appellees Hawai#i Wildlife Fund, a non-profit
corporation, and Conservation Council for Hawai#i, a non-profit

corporation (collectively, the Fund), prevailed and the

continuing litigation seeking permanent injunctive relief on

which the Fund was unsuccessful.

Upon careful review of the record and the briefs

submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to

the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we

resolve Maui County's points of error as follows:

(1) Maui County argues that the Circuit Court failed

to identify the principle issues in the case, and then determined

which party, on balance, prevailed, citing Kamaka v. Goodsill
Anderson Quinn & Stifel, 117 Hawai#i 92, 126, 176 P.3d 91, 125

(2008); Nelson v. Hawaiian Homes Comm'n, 130 Hawai#i 162, 165,

307 P.3d 142, 145 (2013).

The principle issues are clearly identified in the

Circuit Court's April 30, 2020 order granting in part and denying

in part (SJ Order) the Fund's September 5, 2019 Motion for

2
The Honorable Blaine J. Kobayashi entered the Fees Order.

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Summary Judgment and Permanent Injunction (MSJ). The Complaint

alleged that Maui County violated Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS)

chapter 343, often referred to as the Hawai#i Environmental

Policy Act (HEPA), by declaring that a project to replace 4,800

high-pressure sodium streetlights with LED streetlights (the

Project) was exempt from the environmental review requirement of

HRS § 343 (Exemption Declaration). The Fund claimed that the

Exemption Declaration should be null and void, and at a minimum,

Maui County should prepare an environmental assessment for the

Project. The Fund prayed for a declaratory judgment that, inter

alia, (1) Maui County violated HRS chapter 343 by way of the

Exemption Declaration, (2) the Exemption Declaration was null and

void, (3) the installation of the Project was "invalid and

illegal," and (4) Maui County must complete a "legally adequate"

environmental review under HRS chapter 343; as well as

appropriate injunctive relief.

The SJ Order stated that the Fund sought, inter alia, a

ruling that Maui County violated HRS chapter 343 by committing

funds to the Project and issuing the Exemption Declaration, and

that the Exemption Declaration be declared null and void. The SJ

Order also stated that the Fund sought permanent injunctive

relief for the already-installed LED streetlights. The Circuit

Court granted the MSJ in part and held that (1) Maui County

violated HEPA; (2) the Exemption Declaration was null and void;

and (3) pursuant to the December 20, 2019 Stipulation and Order

Re: Plaintiffs' Claims for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

(2019 Stipulation), further work on the Project was prohibited

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pending completion of an environmental review. The Circuit Court

denied the MSJ in part and held that, while the Fund met the

first prong of the three-prong analysis for permanent injunctive

relief, i.e., the Fund prevailed on the merits of its claim that

Maui County violated HRS chapter 343, the remaining two prongs

would be decided at trial. Clearly, the principle issues

involved whether Maui County violated HEPA, notwithstanding that

there were related issues concerning the appropriate remedies.

Maui County argues that the Fund's claim for
declaratory relief was a separate litigation pursuit arising out

of separate factual circumstances, and that it was raised on

separate proof from its claim for permanent injunctive relief.

This argument is without merit. We apply the "disputed main

issue" analysis here. See Deutsche Bank Nat'l Tr. Co. v. Kozma,

140 Hawai#i 494, 498, 403 P.3d 271, 275 (2017); see also Sierra

Club v. Dep't of Transp., 120 Hawai#i 181, 216-18, 202 P.3d 1226,

1261-63 (2009) (Superferry II) (applying the approach outlined in

Food Pantry, Ltd. v. Waikiki Bus. Plaza, Inc., 58 Haw. 606, 575

P.2d 869 (1978), where the prevailing party is determined by who

prevailed on the main issues in the case where final judgment did

not make clear which party had prevailed).

The Fund's claims centered around Maui County's

violation of HRS chapter 343, initially stemming from the

Exemption Declaration. The Fund succeeded on its main claim, and

was granted declaratory relief, but also sought an injunction

that (1) prohibited Maui County from installing additional LED

streetlights pursuant to the Project "unless and until [Maui

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County] compl[ies] fully with HEPA, beginning with preparation of

an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement;"

and (2) required Maui County to "modify the [1,021] illegally

installed LED streetlight fixtures to, at minimum . . . reduce

the blue-light content to the same or less than that of the [HPS]

fixtures they replaced" by either requiring Maui County to

reinstall the old HPS lights or "install filters to reduce the

LED fixtures' blue-light content." The Fund argued that, because

of the statutory violation, LED streetlights were installed
illegally and thus an injunction was necessary to stop the

"irreparable harm" caused by the LED streetlights. Nevertheless,

the main disputed issue was whether Maui County violated HRS

chapter 343. Thus, the Fund is the prevailing party, and Maui

County is not entitled to relief based on its first point of

error.

(2) Maui County argues that the Circuit Court erred in

not apportioning the fees, and thereby awarding fees for

unsuccessful claims.

When contemplating an award of fees for unsuccessful

claims, courts must engage in analysis under Hensley v.

Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424 (1983), to determine whether fees are

reasonable for the "entire time . . . counsel spent on the case."

Right to Know Comm. v. City Council, 117 Hawai#i 1, 15-16, 175

P.3d 111, 125-26 (App. 2007) (citing Schefke v. Reliable

Collection Agency, Ltd., 96 Hawai#i 408, 445, 32 P.3d 52, 89

(2001)).

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Here, the Fund's requested remedies both arose out of

Maui County's statutory violation of issuing the Exemption

Declaration and Maui County's illegal installation of LED

streetlights without completing an environmental assessment. See

Kaleikini v. Yoshioka, 129 Hawai#i 454, 470, 304 P.3d 252, 268

(2013) (holding that all six claims were based on a common core

of facts, "i.e., the City and State's decision to proceed with

the rail project absent a completed AIS."). The Fund prevailed

on the common core issues. Thus, we conclude that the Fund's
claims for more than one form of relief arose out of a "common

core of facts," even if all of the requested relief was not

granted. Moreover, the Fund prevailed on the first prong of the

request for injunctive relief, even though the balancing of harms

and public policy considerations remained outstanding. Under

these circumstances, we conclude that the Circuit Court did not

abuse its discretion in declining to apportion fees between

successful and unsuccessful claims.

For these reasons, the Circuit Court's October 20, 2021

Fees Order is affirmed.

DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, October 21, 2024.

On the briefs: /s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Acting Chief Judge
Moana M. Lutey,
Corporation Counsel, /s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth
County of Maui, Associate Judge
for Defendants-Appellants.
/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
David L. Henkin, Associate Judge
Kylie W. Wager Cruz,
(EarthJustice),
for Plaintiffs-Appellees.

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