Opponents found the right Jane Doe to challenge Hanauma fee

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Attorney Jim Bickerton needed just the right person for his lawsuit to represent all tourists who had been charged $3 to get into Hanauma Bay.

He ended up with Carol Daly, who happens to be the mother-in-law of one of the people fighting against an education center going up at Hanauma Bay.

"You want someone who is civic-minded and responsible because they are representative of a class of people," Bickerton said. "She told me that she felt strongly about this issue and would want to participate."

Daly, who is either a retired or semi-retired health- care worker from San Diego, declined to comment when reached at home.

All class-action lawsuits need someone to represent untold others. And so Daly's name is listed as the plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that Bickerton filed on Tuesday challenging the city's policy of charging out-of-state visitors $3 to get into Hanauma Bay while residents with identification enter for free.

If Bickerton wins his case, all visitors — not just Daly — would get in for free at Hanauma. And the city could potentially be liable for the millions of dollars it has charged out-of-state visitors.

Daly visits the Islands frequently to see her daughter, Kelly Washino, and grandson and granddaughter. Daly's son-in-law, Dave Washino, is also the spokesman for the East Honolulu Community Coalition that has been challenging the education center being built at Hanauma Bay.

Last year, Bob Ackerson, a coalition member, asked Bickerton if he would represent the group pro bono in its fight against the center. Bickerton wasn't interested.

"Challenges to zoning and building permit issues are very complex and very time consuming and not often successful," Bickerton said. "So I wasn't particularly interested in doing that."

But he always has been interested in challenging the separate fee system that the city set up in 1996. He hopes to recover his fees from the judge at the end of the trial if he wins.

"Beaches should not be used as a revenue source for anyone," Bickerton said. "I said, 'If you know people who are interested, let me know.'"

The coalition gave Bickerton four or five names. One was an architect from Germantown, Pa., named Christian Mergner, who was also opposed to the education center. But his address and phone number were no longer valid.

Three or four were local people who had been charged the $3 fee because they did not know they could get in for free. The final name was Daly's.

"She's really just the Jane Doe for this thing," Ackerson said. "She represents all of the other people who came here as visitors and paid $3."

You can reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.