Latest news with #HawaiiSupremeCourt
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Yahoo
Man released after murder conviction is overturned
STAR-ADVERTISER 'We conclude that prosecutorial misconduct prejudiced Cardona's right to a fair trial in violation of the due process clause … of the Hawaii Constitution.' Opinion of the high court On overturning the murder conviction for Oscar Cardona, pictured above with his attorney Christian Enright during his sentencing in 2022 STAR-ADVERTISER 'We conclude that prosecutorial misconduct prejudiced Cardona's right to a fair trial in violation of the due process clause … of the Hawaii Constitution.' Opinion of the high court On overturning the murder conviction for Oscar Cardona, pictured above with his attorney Christian Enright during his sentencing in 2022 A Circuit Court judge has ordered the supervised release of Oscar Cardona, who was convicted in 2022 of second-degree murder in the June 1, 2021, stabbing death of a visitor in Waikiki. Cardona will live with his mother in her one-bedroom Waikiki condo while he awaits a new trial. The Hawaii Supreme Court overturned the December 2022 conviction and life sentence with the possibility of parole, finding prosecutorial misconduct, which violated Cardona's right to a fair trial. It also vacated the Intermediate Court of Appeals' decision, which affirmed the conviction. On Wednesday, Judge James Kawashima granted the defense's motion to modify the terms of the supervised release by allowing Cardona not only to live with his mother in her Waikiki home, but also to attend school and seek employment remotely while he awaits retrial. Attorney Myles Breiner, who handled his appeal, said that if Cardona gets a job, he could help out his single mother. He also asked that Cardona be allowed to obtain MedQuest medical coverage and his Hawaii State ID. The state did not object to the defense's motion for modifying the supervised release. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. The defense said Cardona will also take out the trash and get mail in the building. During his trial, Deputy Public Defender Christian Enright said Cardona's single mother worked as a jewelry salesperson in Waikiki to support her only child, and that Cardona's father lived in Mexico. The then-21-year-old man was described as a sheltered innocent who wore thick glasses since age 5 and played Pokemon Go. He had moved out only a couple of months before his arrest. The Sept. 20 Supreme Court opinion details what was presented at trial and where Deputy Prosecutor Franklin Don Pacarro Jr. and the appeals court erred : Cardona brought a gold pocketknife to Kuhio Beach Park after his new roommate, Elijah Horn, called him for help. Horn had just met four women at Kuhio Beach Park, when two men approached, 19-year-old California visitor Elian Delacerda, who was later killed, and Osvaldo Castaneda-Pena. They were initially friendly but began calling Horn the 'N-word ' and other names and became aggressive. Horn phoned Cardona for help. He testified he didn't want to look like a 'pipsqueak.' Cardona arrived on his electric bicycle. The argument turned physical. Cardona pulled out his gold pocketknife. Castaneda-Pena struck Horn, who hit back with his skateboard. One of the women also hit Castaneda-Pena with the skateboard. Delacerda punched Cardona in the face. Cardona, who has extremely poor vision and wears thick glasses, said he lost his glasses in the scuffle. Cardona stabbed him several times, and he died of a sharp-force wound to his heart. The high court said in closing arguments Pacarro improperly called Cardona a liar and an 'enforcer, ' denying him the right to a fair trial. Cardona filed a notice of intent that explains he has myopic degeneration, resulting in extremely blurred vision and headaches, and needs extremely thick glasses at all times to see. Horn said Cardona was not a fighter, not violent, and that he had never seen him fight before. The ruling says the deputy prosecutor asked Horn improper leading questions. The chief medical examiner testified Delacerda died of an inch-long wound between 1 and 2 inches deep that hit his heart. He had a total of five sharp-force injuries. His blood alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit. Cardona testified Dela cerda punched him in the face, which broke his glasses, and everything went 'blurry and dark.' He also testified that he held out the knife, and Dela cerda may have run up against it and stabbed himself. Cardona and Pacarro got into a back-and-forth about whether Delacerda walked into the knife. 'You never gave him any strikes ?' Pacarro asked. 'No, ' Cardona answered. 'Oh, so he stabbed himself ?' the prosecutor asked. 'He probably ran into it, ' Cardona said. The high court found prosecutorial misconduct when, during the deputy prosecutor's rebuttal closing argument, he said : 'People lie. The evidence doesn't lie. 'Defendant said, 'Well, when I don't wear my glasses, I'm blurry.' He didn't say he was colorblind. Guy was wearing a red hat, black shirt, red shorts. You take off your glasses … you see a figure.' He also says, 'He's scared ? He looks like the enforcer, ' 'riding around on his bike, like he owned those streets.' Pacarro also said, 'There's no credible, independent evidence that he had an eye problem.' The high court found the appeals court erred by characterizing the deputy prosecutor's statements as benign, and that his use of leading questions throughout the trial was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. 'We conclude that prosecutorial misconduct prejudiced Cardona's right to a fair trial in violation of the due process clause … of the Hawaii Constitution, ' the opinion reads.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unanimous decision reached in Maui fire settlement
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled today that insurance companies are barred from subrogation claims against the defendants in the $4 billion Global Settlement for victims of the Lahaina wildfire, and is limited in its subrogation claims against is the process in which insurance companies are allowed to get reimbursed for insurance claim payouts from an at-fault party. Insurance companies say they've paid out close to $3 billion in claims from the Lahaina wildfire on August 8, 2023. Hawaii Supreme Court hears arguments over Lahaina wildfire victims' global settlement The $4.037 billion settlement, also known as the Global Settlement, was announced in August and on Thursday the Supreme Court questioned involved attorneys. Top 10 ways pregnant people in Hawaiʻi can benefit from more birth choices 'We are not against insured or other fire victims that weren't even insured by somebody,' said Mark Grotefeld, attorney for insurance companies said after Thursdayʻs hearing. 'We simply wanna be able to pursue the recovery against those that started this fire. And we're entitled do that under the law.' This ruling clears the way for individual payments to be paid out to fire victims. 'The Supreme Court simply followed clear Hawaii law that mainland subrogation insurers refused to acknowledge. This is the next step in getting relief to the plaintiffs who are the true victims of the Maui Fires,' Jesse Creed of Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP told KHON2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
10-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Hawaii court rules against insurance companies in Maui wildfire, allowing $4B settlement to proceed
Monday's ruling resolves a key roadblock to finalizing the deal and sends the case back to a Maui judge to determine next steps. A representative for the insurance companies said he would get back to the The Associated Press to comment on the ruling and whether they will ask for review at the U.S. Supreme Court. Advertisement A key question that was before Hawaii Supreme Court was whether state laws controlling health care insurance reimbursement also apply to casualty and property insurance in limiting companies' ability to pursue independent legal action against those held liable. The justices answered yes. Gerald Singleton, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said they're still trying to make sense of the ruling but are pleased with it. 'Now the settlement can take the next step forward,' he said.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How does Hawaii plan to battle rising insurance rates?
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Insurance companies nationwide are hiking rates to keep up with escalating risks for more frequent, fierce climate-driven disasters like hurricanes and met with Hawaii's Acting Insurance Commissioner, Jerry Bump, to see how bad it is in the islands. 'It really varies from carrier to carrier. Some have been more proactive with rate increases on a smaller scale. From 10 to 15 percent per year,' said Bump. Hawaii Supreme Court hears arguments over Lahaina wildfire victims' global settlement As rates grow, coverage shrinks from some providers — none of whom have pulled out of the Hawaii market completely nor cut off whole neighborhoods like what happened to many in Palisades, Calif. just before January's disaster. 'So there may be individuals who get nonrenewal notices because the carrier hasn't pulled out of the market. It's still writing in other areas, but maybe it's limiting the type of structure it wants to write or avoid areas that are in flood zones.' The Insurance Division's Online Premium Comparison Guides may be complicated to decipher, but they show consumers how much prices can vary between dozens of regulated carriers for the same coverage. It's meant to help homeowners, condo owners and even renters shop around. 'We're looking very closely at rate filings, scrutinizing those working with insurers to hopefully minimize those rate increases that they're filing for,' Bump added. Deal reached: How will the $4B Lahaina Global Settlement be split for fire victims? But a whole bunch of coverage happens outside the state's kuleana, especially condo associations, which are layers of coverage that regulators cannot control. 'They turn to what we call the surplus lines market, and they are able to still find coverage, but it's at rates that might be much higher than what we traditionally have seen.' Governor Josh Green tasked the Hawaii Hurricane Relief Fund's board with setting up a state-based alternative. 'We're in an emergency, but we're not moving like there's an emergency,' said Senator Jarrett Keohokalole, Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection. KHON2 has asked the commissioner if he can push the board and its contractor to hurry it up. Check out more news from around Hawaii 'They have laid out a timeline where they want to get policies out to the market by summer.' We will continue to follow up on ways for the state to facilitate and for consumers to find more affordable and attainable coverage to get out of this insurance emergency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hawaii Supreme Court hears arguments over Lahaina wildfire victims' global settlement
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The fate of the $4 billion 'Global Settlement' for Lahaina wildfire victims is now in the hands of the Hawaii Supreme Court. Whatever the court decides could have a big impact on everyone in Hawaii. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The $4.037 billion Global Settlement was announced in August. On Thursday, Feb, 6, the Hawaii Supreme Court finally had the opportunity to question lawyers about the legality of it. 'It seems like you're crashing directly into State Farm,' said Justice Todd Eddins. Deal reached: How will the $4B Lahaina Global Settlement be split for fire victims? 'If 66-10 does not apply, there's not a tort suit filed, then other subrogation rights would apply, is that correct,' asked Justice Lisa Ginoza. 'What's wrong with this proceeding that it's somehow prejudicial,' asked Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald. At question – are insurance companies allowed to collect money from those at fault for the fires? They said the Global Settlement blocks them from doing that. 'They've been involved every step of the way, they just want a bigger piece of the pie,' said Jesse Creed, attorney for fire victims. 'That's what it comes down to. It's money for them.' 'We are not against insured or other fire victims that weren't even insured by somebody,' said Mark Grotefeld, attorney for insurance companies. 'We simply wanna be able to pursue the recovery against those that started this fire. And we're entitled do that under the law.' 'There's no rights that are being taken away from anyone,' said Cynthia Wong, attorney for victims. 'The Hawaii Supreme Court knows that and they're gonna come up with the process that allows the victims to move forward with this settlement.' After close to two hours of arguments, attorneys for the victims and insurance companies felt confident about their chances and focused on the big-picture ramifications of this ruling. When can wildfire victims get money to start rebuilding? And what happens to Hawaii's home insurance market if the companies can't recoup their losses? 'You remove that safety net for insureds, that becomes a very difficult situation for the citizens of Hawaii,' said Grotefeld. 'And we are working very hard to prevent that from happening. We want that safety net to be maintained and that's really why we're here before this court.''We're dedicated to making sure we get money in the hands of the people of Maui as quickly as we can,' said Creed. Chief Justice Recktenwald acknowledged that the court understands the urgency needed for a decision in this case. Officially, they can take as long as they want. Attorneys hope a ruling is made within a couple of months. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
