City Council approves $40K Liquor Commission settlement
Litigation involving the Honolulu Liquor Commission and one of its former investigators who claimed discrimination, harassment and a hostile work environment based on his sexual orientation while working for the agency has advanced toward a settlement.
Without discussion or public comment, the Honolulu City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt the city's request to authorize the agreement for Jhumar Ray Waite, with the city agency solely charged with the power and authority to grant licenses for the manufacture, import or sale of liquor within the city and county.
James DiPasquale, Waite's attorney, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser his client will receive $40, 000 from the city as part of the agreement. 'It just resolves this simple case, ' he added.
The mayor's office also confirmed the Waite settlement.
'The city determined that the settlement amount was reasonable when compared to the anticipated costs of continued litigation, ' Ian Scheuring, the mayor's deputy communications director, told the Star-Advertiser. 'In exchange for the monetary settlement, the plaintiff agreed to release and dismiss with prejudice all claims against the City and the Hono lulu Liquor Commission.'
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii in 2023, Waite's complaint had named HLC investigators Jacob Fears, Catherine Fontaine and Glen Nishigata as defendants in the case. The litigation alleged the trio, in their official and individual capacities, violated portions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as state laws related to discrimination against Waite.
Waite—who had worked as a Honolulu liquor investigator starting in 2022 but later resigned—is gay and Filipino, the complaint stated.
'I think it is an appropriate agreement under the circumstances, ' DiPasquale said, adding that his client wanted to settle the case out of court. 'I think he was actually tired of the media. I think he was tired of the attention. He was very stressed. He wanted this to go away.'
Meanwhile, the city's prior legal battle against Waite had amassed more legal fees for its hired law firm.
In October the city requested the Council adopt Resolution 249, which sought an additional $115, 000 be appropriated to pay Kobayashi Sugita &Goda LLC to defend the city against the Waite civil lawsuit.
On Oct. 9 the Council unanimously granted the city's funding request.
The trial for Waite's civil litigation was set to begin in April, city officials said.
Waite's jettisoned lawsuit follows a related 2021 federal complaint by a Chinatown nightclub and a guide to the islands catering to the LGBTQ + community that also led to a final settlement with the city in December, also involving DiPasquale as the plaintiff's attorney.
That settlement agreement saw plaintiffs Scarlet Honolulu Inc. and Gay Island Guide LLC—who alleged anti -gay discrimination by investigators working for the HLC—receive $670, 000, and require mandated federal court oversight, among other reforms.
Originally, the complaint had named two liquor commission investigators—Fears and Fontaine—who, along with other investigators working for the city, allegedly engaged in an 'ongoing campaign of unlawful, unconstitutional, and highly discriminatory anti-gay harassment of Scarlet, Gay Island Guide, and generally, the Honolulu LGBTQ + community ' that lasted more than six years, according to the complaint and attorney DiPasquale.
After the city sought a motion to dismiss the Scarlet case in 2024, Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson on Aug. 3, 2023, issued a 38-page order allowing the case to proceed to a bench trial.
But the judge's prior ruling dismissed all claims against the two investigators, Fears and Fontaine, in their official capacities.
Terms of the agreement involved changes to how Liquor Commission investigators operate as well as quarterly monitoring and reporting required to the court to oversee the status of implementation of those changes.
This week, DiPasquale said his clients in the Scarlet case were also monitoring HLC and its supposed reforms.
'They got an opportunity to work with the new commissioner on a number of different things, '
he added, 'and they're happy with what they view as a legitimate desire to move things in the right direction.'
Previously, Liquor Commission Administrator Sal Petilos told the Star -Advertiser his agency's reform efforts included a reorganization of the HLC's field services branch, increased and enhanced training for staff, and more funding for new applications and technologies to create the 'randomization of routine inspection and geolocation history data ' to deter bias among HLC investigators tasked with inspecting liquor-licensed businesses on Oahu.
And as of May 1, HLC initiated a body-worn camera pilot program as a trial to document investigators' interactions with the licensed community, according to an agency news release.
'The intent is to increase transparency and accountability while building public trust and confidence in the Honolulu Liquor Commission, ' the April 17 release states. 'For the duration of the pilot program, no information collected will be used to issue warnings, violations, or any type of regulatory response.'
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