Vested rights

The Hawaii Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Brescia v. North Shore Ohana (No. 27211, July 12, 2007), a case discussing shoreline setbacks, due process, and vested rights.  I haven’t had a chance to read the majority opinion authored by Justice Acoba, or the concurring opinion by Justice Levinson, but will post more after…

The Star-Bulletin also reports on the Kauai Springs litigation, a case challenging the Kauai Planning Department’s denial of a request to use land zoned “Agriculture” on grounds wholly outside its authority or jurisdiction:

The lawyer for Kauai Springs, however, said that water is a food like any other agricultural product and that closing down an…

Kauai’s newspaper, in a story entitled “Kauai Springs operating for now,” reports on a case:

“We’re in a holding pattern,” said Robert Thomas, an attorney with Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert representing Kaua‘i Springs.

In March, Kaua‘i Springs appealed the Planning Commission’s decision to deny its request for a use permit, special permit…

Recently, I was a guest on Jay Fidell’s ThinkTech program on Hawaii Public Radio, talking about legal issues that may arise when legislation is targeted at specific individuals or companies (what I refer to as “single victim legislation”). 

The issue raised its head when the Hawaii Legislature seemed ready to consider a proposal requiring one…

A touch of self-promotion.  In February 2006, the University of Hawaii Law Review published an article written by me and my Damon Key colleagues Ken Kupchak and Greg Kugle. 

The title “Arrow of Time: Vested Rights, Zoning Estoppel, and Development Agreements in Hawaii” pretty much sums up the contents.  The article seeks to…