HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

287

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS TO REPORT ON ITS EXPERIENCE WITH AND TO EVALUATE the CURRENT SYSTEM FOR CONDOMINIUM DISPUTE RESOLUTION.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, today in the State, tens of thousands of residents live in condominiums; and

 

     WHEREAS, condominium living by nature brings persons who in most cases were, and in many cases remain, strangers to each other together living in close proximity; and

 

     WHEREAS, this close contact may lead to disputes between condominium owners and between condominium owners and the association of apartment owners and the association's agents, such as management companies, that oversee the maintenance and operation of the condominium; and

 

     WHEREAS, chapter 514B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, contains provisions for alternative dispute resolution, including section 514B-161, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that calls for mandatory mediation at the request of any party to a dispute concerning one or more owners and an association, its board, managing agent, or one or more other unit owners relating to the interpretation, application, or enforcement of chapter 514B, Hawaii Revised Statutes, or the association's declaration, bylaws, or house rules; and

 

     WHEREAS, if the dispute is not resolved by mediation, then any party that participated in the mediation may request an administrative hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearing of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, under a pilot project that is set to expire on June 30, 2009; and

 

     WHEREAS, if the administrative hearing process does not resolve the dispute, pursuant to section 514B-162, Hawaii Revised Statutes, any party to the dispute may invoke mandatory arbitration; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to section 514B-163, Hawaii Revised Statutes, any award of arbitration may be subjected to appeal in the circuit court or a trial de novo of the dispute in the circuit court; and

 

     WHEREAS, all these proceedings from mediation to an administrative hearing to arbitration and, finally, to litigation in the circuit court can be complex, requiring parties to retain attorneys and possibly expert witnesses; and

 

     WHEREAS, the costs of these proceedings may result in enormous legal and other fees and costs, particularly to an individual condominium owner; and

 

     WHEREAS, pursuant to section 514B-157, Hawaii Revised Statutes, if the condominium owner fails to prevail in any dispute with an association of apartment owners, the condominium owner is further subject to having to repay the association for its costs and expenses; and

 

     WHEREAS, the result to any individual condominium owner in a legitimate dispute could be horrendous; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to report to the Legislature on its direct, first hand experience with the condominium dispute resolution program, and to provide a review and evaluation of the efficacy of that program; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to consider other possible methods of dispute resolution that may result in expeditious and equitable dispute resolutions without exposing the parties to any dispute to excessive and unreasonable legal and other fees and costs; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is requested to report its findings and recommendations, along with any proposed legislation, to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

DCCA; Condominium Dispute Resolution