Report Title:

Appellate Jurisdiction

 

Description:

Authorizes immediate appeals from certain court orders regarding injunctions and denials of sovereign, absolute, or qualified immunity.

 


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1035

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO APPEALS.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to authorize immediate appeals from certain orders regarding injunctions and from denials of sovereign, absolute, or qualified immunity, assuming such appeals were not already authorized or allowed.

     SECTION 2.  Section 641-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§641-1  Appeals as of right or interlocutory, civil matters.  (a)  Appeals shall be allowed in civil matters from all final judgments, orders, or decrees of circuit and district courts and the land court to the intermediate appellate court, subject to chapter 602.

     (b)  [Upon application made within the time provided by the rules of court,] Except for interlocutory appeals as a matter of right as provided in subsection (c), an appeal in a civil matter may be allowed by a circuit court in its discretion from an order denying a motion to dismiss or from any interlocutory judgment, order, or decree whenever the circuit court may think the same advisable for the speedy termination of litigation before it.  The refusal of the circuit court to allow an appeal from an interlocutory judgment, order, or decree shall not be reviewable by any other court.

     (c)  Appeals shall be allowed from interlocutory orders of the circuit courts and the land court and, as to paragraph (2) only, the district courts, that:

     (1)  Grant, continue, modify, refuse, or dissolve injunctions, or refuse to dissolve or modify injunctions, except that the court retains jurisdiction over the matter, permitting the court to, at minimum, grant, continue, modify, refuse, or dissolve injunctions pending the outcome of the appeal to the extent necessary to preserve the status quo; or

     (2)  Deny motions seeking dismissal, or judgment for the movant, based upon sovereign immunity or absolute or qualified immunity.

     [(c)] (d)  An application to the circuit court to permit an interlocutory appeal under subsection (b) and any appeal shall be taken in the manner and within the time provided by the rules of court."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval and shall apply fully to all cases filed on or after its effective date and all cases pending in the circuit and district courts and the land court for which no final judgment has been entered as of its effective date, to the extent permitted by law; provided that the amendments made to section 641-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by this Act shall not be repealed if wording in section 641-1 in effect on June 30, 2006, is reenacted pursuant to Act 202, Session Laws of Hawaii 2004, as amended by Act 94, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006, and any other act, unless the amendments made by this Act are expressly amended or repealed in that other act.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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By Request