Upcoming Oral Arguments Of Interest

The Hawaii Supreme Court and Intermediate Court of Appeals will be hearing two appeals of note:

• Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - Maunalua Bay Beach Ohana 28 v. State of Hawaii, No. 28175 (HAWICA). The issue is whether the state, or littoral landowners, are entitled to ownership of certain accreted lands. In "Act 73," (codifed here and here) the legislature declared that shoreline land naturally accreted belongs to the State of Hawaii and is public property. More about the arguments, including the briefs, here. Disclosure: we filed an amicus brief supporting the property owners.

• Thursday, December 17, 2009, 9:00 a.m. - Unite Here! Local 5 v. City and County of Honolulu, No. 28602 (HAWSCT). The Supreme Court is reviewing the ICA's conclusion that unless the project changes, a supplemental EIS is not required under the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act, Haw. Rev. Stat. ch. 343. The application for writ of certiorari asked the court to review this Question Presented:

Under HRS Chapter 343 an its enabling rules, is a supplemental environmental review required when there are significant changes to a project's circumstances, such as increased environmental and community impacts, or are supplemental reviews limited solely to changes in project design?

More about the case here. Note: the oral arguments apparently were rescheduled, as earlier notices listed the date as Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.