Circuit Judge Dexter Del Rosario ruled in favor of about 30 people suing the state in what was one of the worst natural disasters in Hawai'i history.

The judge presided over the first phase of a nonjury trial last year to determine whether the state should be held liable. The decision paves the way for the second phase of the trial on the amount the state must now pay. Lawyers for the people who filed the suit earlier said they will seek millions of dollars. The damage phase of the trial is scheduled for January.

The deadly rock fall occurred May 9, 1999.

During last year's trial Laurent Remillard and Arthur Park argued that the state knew about the potential for a deadly rockfall, but did not adequately warn the public about the dangers and was negligent in operating the park.

The state's position was that rockfalls are unpredictable, signs adequately warned visitors of the dangers and park-users assumed the risk of injury by entering the park.