Special master proposed to clear homestead backlog
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
Attorneys and lawmakers are working to unjam the mechanism that has stopped nearly $18 million in claims against the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust and delayed more complaints about the way the state has handled homestead applications.
The complaints vary widely, but more than two-thirds of them come from would-be homesteaders who charge that they've languished too long on the waiting list because of a mistaken classification or another reason.
The House Committee on Water, Land Use and Hawaiian Affairs yesterday heard a bill that seeks the appointment of a special master to complete the review of 1,376 more cases left unfinished when the trust's Individual Claims Review Panel authority expired more than two years ago.
This approach is gaining favor because it's quicker than resurrecting the claims panel, said state Rep. Cynthia Thielen, R-50th (Kailua, Mokapu).
Individual Claims Review Panel authority expired two years ago. • 2,721 claims filed • 874 rejected • 469 recommended for awards • 2 considered by Legislature
"The more we wait, the fewer claimants there will be to participate," she said.
Hawaiian lands
Among those submitting written testimony yesterday was Evangeline Lanai of Wai'anae.
"It's been almost 10 years since my husband filed his claim with the claims panel," Lanai wrote. "My husband passed away on Sept. 7, 1993, before he could live on his homestead, and before we could get payment for our claim."
The special master also would cost less, attorney Thomas Grande said. Grande represents would-be Hawaiian homesteaders in a class-action lawsuit to settle the claims.
The case is before the Hawai'i Supreme Court.
Grande told the committee that a meeting is planned March 27 to discuss the proposal with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, in hopes of settling the claims out of court.
By Grande's estimate, a reinstated panel would take another four years and up to $4.3 million to process the remaining claims. He estimated that the special master process would take 18 months and cost about $1.67 million.
The bill, passed by the Senate, seemed poised to receive the House committee's approval next week, once amendments are made to bar claimants from winning awards both in court and through a claims review.
Grande said of the 2,721 filed claims, the 874 were rejected by the panel and 469 were recommended for awards, which would have averaged about $38,000 each.
Authorization for the panel expired in 1999, and a bill to extend its life was passed but vetoed by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano. The result is the class-action suit with the state opposing the Hawaiians' right to sue.
The state is arguing that the panel must be reinstated and allowed to finish before a claimant, dissatisfied with a panel ruling, could exercise the right to sue, said Charleen Aina, deputy attorney general.
Grande acknowledged that the suit could be withdrawn if lawmakers approve money for the 469 awaiting awards and if they authorize the review of other claims.
But they must wait and see, Thielen advised.
"You would be foolish to withdraw the lawsuit on the faith that the Legislature will act," she said.
