The circuit court has scheduled the next steps in County of Hawaii v. C & J Coupe Family Limited Partnership, No. 28882 (Haw. Dec. 24, 2008), the case in which the Hawaii Supreme Court held that the government must pay damages to a property owner when an attempt to take property by eminent domain fails, and that courts have an obligation to examine claims that the government’s asserted public purpose for a taking is pretextual, even when the taking is for a “classic” public use. The Court remanded the case to the circuit court for a consideration of the amount of damages owed to the property owners, and the pretext issue. [Disclosure: we represent the property owners.]
The schedule for the case is reported by West Hawaii Today here.