Lewis v. Hawaiian Homes Commission

Summary

The Hawaiʻi Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the circuit court's judgment upholding the Hawaiian Homes Commission's cancellation of Heidi Lewis's interest in a Hawaiian homestead lease. The court held that the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands met the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard by showing Lewis knowingly permitted gambling activity on the homestead and that the agency and circuit court did not clearly err in considering partially redacted police reports.

Holdings

1. The Commission properly applied the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. Under HRS § 91-10(5), the Department bore the burdens of production and persuasion by a preponderance of the evidence, and no heightened clear-and-convincing standard applied.
2. The Commission was entitled to cancel Lewis's lease interest because her testimony established by a preponderance of the evidence that she knowingly advanced illegal gambling activity on the homestead, violating both HRS § 712-1222 and the lease's requirement that she comply with applicable laws.
3. The Commission and circuit court did not clearly err by considering partially redacted police incident reports because the reports were not shown to be irrelevant or unreliable and Lewis's own testimony independently supported the finding that she knowingly advanced gambling activity.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Commission and circuit court properly applied the preponderance-of-the-evidence standard rather than a clear-and-convincing-evidence standard in determining whether Lewis violated the lease through alleged quasi-criminal gambling conduct.
2. Whether the Commission and circuit court improperly relied on partially redacted police incident reports in finding that Lewis violated the lease.
3. Whether the Commission was authorized under section 210 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to cancel Lewis's lease interest after finding a lease-condition violation.

Disposition

affirmed