HAWAII INSURERS COUNCIL v. LINGLE

No. 27840 (April 14, 2008)

Opinion [pdf]

OPINION OF THE COURT BY FOLEY, J.

Defendants-Appellants Linda Lingle, Governor of the State of Hawai'i; Georgina K. Kawamura, Director of Finance, Department of Budget and Finance; Lawrence M. Reifurth, Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA); and J.P. Schmidt, Insurance Commissioner, Insurance Division of the DCCA (collectively referred to as "the State") appeal from the Final Judgment entered on February 27, 2006 in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit (circuit court).

On appeal, the State argues that the circuit court erred

(1)  in ruling that, under State v. Medeiros, 89 Hawai'i 361, 973 P.2d 736 (1999), the assessments were taxes rather than regulatory fees;

(2)  in ruling that the assessments violated the Due Process Clauses of the United States and Hawai'i Constitutions;

(3)  in ruling that the assessments violated separation of powers;

(4)  in ruling that the assessments violated the Equal Protection Clauses of the United States and Hawai'i Constitutions;

(5)  in ruling that the assessments violated Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 431:7-204 (2005 Repl.);

(6)  in granting the request of Plaintiff-Appellant Hawaii Insurers Council (HIC) for injunctive relief;

(7)  in granting HIC an accounting;

(8)  in rejecting the State's defense that HIC failed to exhause its administrative remedies; and

(9)  in rejecting the State's defense that HIC cannot pursue a declaratory action involving a tax matter.

. . . .

Based on the foregoing, we affirm the Final Judgment filed on February 27, 2006 in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit. [footnotes omitted]

Concurring opinion by Watanabe, J. [pdf]