YMM LLC v. Kuroiwa

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
29-JUL-2025
06:34 AM
Dkt. 51 SO

NOS. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX and CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS

OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I

CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
YMM LLC, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.
SCOTT KUROIWA, Defendant-Appellant
(CASE NO. 5RC181000106)

and
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
MASAKATSU KATSURA, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS TRUSTEE OF
THE MASAKATSU KATSURA REVOCABLE TRUST DATED AUGUST 23, 1994;
MIEKO KATSURA, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS TRUSTEE OF THE
MIEKO KATSURA REVOCABLE TRUST DATED AUGUST 23, 1994;
and YMM LLC, a Hawaii LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v.
SCOTT KUROIWA, Defendant-Appellant,
and JOHN AND JANE DOES, PARTNERSHIPS,
CORPORATIONS AND ENTITIES 1-20, Defendants
(CASE NO. 5DRC-XX-XXXXXXX)

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Hiraoka, Presiding Judge, McCullen and Guidry, JJ.)

Scott Kuroiwa, representing himself, appeals from two
cases in the District Court of the Fifth Circuit: Judiciary
Information Management System (JIMS) case no. 5RC181000106 (the
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

2018 DC Case); and JIMS case no. 5DRC-XX-XXXXXXX (the 2022 DC
Case).1
In CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Kuroiwa appeals from the
November 9, 2022 Order Dismissing Plaintiff's Complaint Against
Defendant Without Prejudice entered in the 2018 DC Case.
In CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, Kuroiwa appeals from December 23,
2022 Judgment for Possession for Masakatsu Katsura, Mieko
Katsura, and YMM LLC (collectively, YMM) and Writ of Possession
entered in the 2022 DC Case.
We conclude the District Court lacked jurisdiction over
the 2018 DC Case and the 2022 DC Case. We vacate the orders
appealed from and the Judgment for Possession and Writ of
Possession, and remand for the District Court to enter orders
dismissing each case for lack of jurisdiction and to determine
the disposition of any funds deposited in or disbursed from the
Rent Trust Fund.
The dispute between YMM and Kuroiwa has a long and
complicated history. YMM LLC filed the 2018 DC Case against
Kuroiwa on March 22, 2018. It sought possession of, and unpaid
rent for, Property in Kapa#a, Kaua#i. The District Court ordered
Kuroiwa to deposit funds into a Rent Trust Fund. YMM LLC moved
for partial summary judgment on possession. Kuroiwa argued the
District Court lacked jurisdiction because he claimed an
ownership interest in the Property. He filed a copy of a
March 25, 2016 Purchase Contract to show the Katsuras had agreed
to sell him the Property. The District Court concluded it had
jurisdiction because title was not at issue, but denied summary
judgment because YMM LLC failed to give Kuroiwa statutorily
required notice.
On June 15, 2018, Kuroiwa sued the Katsuras and YMM LLC
in circuit court for specific performance of the Purchase

1
The Honorable Michael K. Soong presided in both cases.

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

Contract and damages. We take judicial notice of the record in
JIMS case no. 5CC181000083 (the Circuit Court Case).2
Four days later, Kuroiwa moved to dismiss the 2018 DC
Case based on the filing of the Circuit Court Case. By order
entered on August 3, 2018, the District Court granted the motion
and ordered that any funds in the Rent Trust Fund be disbursed to
Kuroiwa.
Meanwhile, in the Circuit Court Case, the Katsuras and
YMM LLC answered Kuroiwa's complaint and counterclaimed for
breach of the Purchase Contract, breach of rental agreements, a
declaratory judgment quieting title to the Property, injunctive
relief, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair
dealing, fraud, unfair and deceptive acts or practices, punitive
damages, waste, conversion or attempted conversion, and trespass.
YMM moved for summary judgment on some of its counterclaims.
The circuit court entered an order granting partial summary
judgment on Count I of the counterclaim (for breach of the
Purchase Contract) only. On June 7, 2021, the circuit court
entered a judgment for YMM against Kuroiwa "as to Count I of
Defendants' counterclaim."
Kuroiwa appealed from the circuit court judgment,
creating CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX. After a temporary remand, we dismissed
the appeal for lack of jurisdiction because "the circuit court
has indicated that the parties' remaining claims and
counterclaims remain active[.]" Kuroiwa v. Katsura,
No. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, 2022 WL 1714911 (Haw. App. May 27, 2022)
(order).`
On October 7, 2021, the circuit court sua sponte
reopened the 2018 DC Case, set aside the District Court's
August 3, 2018 order dismissing the case, and "remanded" YMM's
"counterclaims for damages and other appropriate relief" to the

2
See Rule 201, Hawaii Rules of Evidence, Chapter 626, Hawaii
Revised Statutes (2016).

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District Court. On March 3, 2022, the District Court entered an
order re-establishing the Rent Trust Fund.
YMM filed the 2022 DC Case against Kuroiwa on
August 12, 2022. It sought possession of, and unpaid rent for,
the Property.
On August 29, 2022, Kuroiwa again moved to dismiss the
2018 DC Case for lack of jurisdiction. The District Court denied
the motion but entered separate orders dismissing the 2018 DC
Case without prejudice and transferring the Rent Trust Fund to
the 2022 DC Case. Kuroiwa's appeal created CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX.
In the 2022 DC Case, YMM moved for partial summary
judgment on possession. Kuroiwa moved for judgment on the
pleadings. On December 23, 2022, the District Court entered an
order granting YMM's motion as to possession only; the Judgment
for Possession; and the Writ of Possession. The District Court
entered an order denying Kuroiwa's motion for judgment on the
pleadings on December 28, 2022. Kuroiwa's appeal created
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX. We consolidated Kuroiwa's appeals on
October 31, 2023.
Kuroiwa states these points of error: (1) the District
Court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the 2018 DC Case and
transferring the Rent Trust Fund to the 2022 DC Case; and (2) the
District Court erred by establishing the Rent Trust Fund and
entering the Judgment for Possession and Writ of Possession in
the 2022 DC Case.3
The existence of subject matter jurisdiction is a
question of law we review de novo under the right/wrong standard.
Ass'n of Apartment Owners of Century Ctr., Inc. v. An, 139
Hawai#i 278, 284, 389 P.3d 115, 121 (2016). The district courts
have jurisdiction over summary possession actions. Hawaii
Revised Statutes (HRS) § 666-6 (2016). But the district courts
do not have jurisdiction over summary possession actions "in

3
Kuroiwa's briefs state additional points of error which we need
not address.

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which the title to real estate comes in question[.]" HRS
§ 604-5(d) (2016). Title to the Property is in question in the
Circuit Court Case, which remains pending.
YMM argues that the October 7, 2021 amended order in
the Circuit Court Case "decided the jurisdictional question by
holding that: 'Scott Kuroiwa has no claim of interest or title to
the property.'" The circuit court's October 7, 2021 amended
order referred to its April 12, 2021 order. The April 12, 2021
order stated that "[YMM] are entitled to a judgment as a
matter of law that [Kuroiwa] breached the Purchase Contract."
Both orders are interlocutory, subject to appeal at an
appropriate time. Title to the Property thus remains at issue.
The circuit court exceeded its authority by entering the
October 7, 2021 order reopening the 2018 DC Case.
YMM cites Monette v. Benjamin, 52 Haw. 27, 467 P.2d 574
(1970), which dealt with appeals from interlocutory orders. We
questioned the continuing validity of Monette in Employees'
Retirement System v. Big Island Realty, Inc., 2 Haw. App. 151,
155–56, 155 n.9, 627 P.2d 304, 307 & n.9 (1981), because it was
decided before Rule 54(b) of the Hawai#i Rules of Civil Procedure
(HRCP) was amended. Under current law, the circuit court's
April 12, 2021 order is not final or appealable because it does
not resolve all claims as to all parties and the record does not
show that the circuit court certified it for appeal under HRCP
Rule 54(b), Jenkins v. Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, 76 Hawai#i
115, 119, 869 P.2d 1334, 1338 (1994); it is not appealable under
the collateral order or Forgay doctrines, see Greer v. Baker, 137
Hawai#i 249, 253, 369 P.3d 832, 836 (2016); and it is not
appealable under HRS § 641-1(b) (2016).
YMM also cites Abercrombie v. McClung, 54 Haw. 376, 507
P.2d 719 (1973), where the supreme court concluded that an order
denying a motion for summary judgment was an appealable final
order. Id. at 381, 507 P.2d at 722. In Greer, the supreme court
explained that "the Abercrombie court treated the denial of
legislative immunity as an immediately appealable collateral

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order." 137 Hawai#i at 257, 369 P.3d at 840. An appealable
collateral order must (1) conclusively determine the disputed
question; (2) resolve an important issue separate from the
merits; and (3) be effectively unreviewable on appeal from a
final judgment. Id. at 254, 369 P.3d at 837. The April 12, 2021
order is not an appealable collateral order because it involves
the merits of the Circuit Court Case and it is not effectively
unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment.
The District Court did not have jurisdiction to decide
JIMS case no. 5RC181000106 or JIMS case no. 5DRC-XX-XXXXXXX on
the merits. We vacate the orders in each case and the Judgment
for Possession and Writ of Possession entered in 5DRC-XX-XXXXXXX.
We remand for the District Court to enter orders dismissing each
case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. See Mobley v.
Kimura, 146 Hawai#i 311, 325 n.23, 463 P.3d 968, 982 n.23 (2020)
(stating that when circuit court dismisses complaint for lack of
jurisdiction its order should indicate "dismissal" rather than
"summary judgment"). On remand, the District Court should also
determine the disposition of any funds deposited in or disbursed
from the Rent Trust Fund and enter an appropriate order.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, July 29, 2025.

On the briefs:
/s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Scott Kuroiwa, Presiding Judge
Self-represented
Defendant-Appellant. /s/ Sonja M.P. McCullen
Associate Judge
Glen T. Hale,
for Plaintiff-Appellee /s/ Kimberly T. Guidry
YMM, LLC. Associate Judge

Glen T. Hale,
for Plaintiffs-Appellees
Masakatsu Katsura, individually
and as trustee of the Masakatsu
Katsura Revocable Trust dated
August 23, 1994; Meiko Katsura,
individually and as trustee of the
Mieko Katsura Revocable Trust
dated August 23, 1994.

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