![]() ![]() "Just to get our claims, we have to research and file it to the claims office," said Boner, 58. Because agency staff originally assigned to her claim are long gone, Boner said it's hard to check the status of her case. "This is an example of how the state has given very little priority to the most important and fundamental mission of the state as a result of joining the federal union."ĭianne Boner, a plaintiff from Waipahu, said her application has been pending since 1971. "What do you think happens as a result of that small of a budget for this big of a mission?" he asked. He pointed to a graph that showed the department's share of state general funds decreasing dramatically in the past 20 years. As of May 31, there were 18,784 people waiting for leases, Yonenaka said.īut Alan Murakami, attorney for the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said the state has not adequately funded the program. The federal government set up the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921, eventually reserving 200,000 acres statewide to benefit native Hawaiians. "It's been a six-year battle in the Supreme Court and the decision that was rendered today allows us to now go back to Circuit Court and to pursue these claims for monetary damages," Grande said. The state appealed, and the case wound up before the high court. Soon after, Circuit Judge Victoria Marks ruled that claimants could sue the state for ending the review process. The Legislature tried to keep the panel active for another year, but then-Gov. But when the panel crumbled in 1999, only two cases were heard, leaving more than 2,700 challenges unresolved, he said. The land disputes date to 1991, when the state set up the Hawaiian Homes Land Trust Individual Claims Review to investigate allegations of breaches in cases between 19, Grande said. Now, that my father is not here, I have to fight for his portion so that I can pass this to my mother," said an emotional Ah Chong, 48, whose mother, Wehilani Ching, lives in Hawaii Kai. "I'm overjoyed that we finally won the battle he was fighting. ![]() One of the plaintiffs, Raynette Nalani Ah Chong of Kahaluu, said the ruling will allow her to revisit an application filed in 1966 by her father, Joseph Ching, who died in 2001. ![]() Also, those with land awards could make claims for not being able to build a house or a farm because of a lack of improvements. Lloyd Yonenaka, spokesman for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, referred questions about the case to the Attorney General's Office.Īttorneys say the ruling would allow applicants to file claims for rent paid while waiting for a Hawaiian Homes lease. State Attorney General Mark Bennett could not say yesterday whether the state would appeal the 64-page decision, but that his staff would review it. It also faults the land trust for allegedly awarding properties lacking access to water, damaged by illegal grading or other work. The suit, brought by three women, argues that the homesteading program set up under the 1959 Statehood Admissions Act mishandled thousands of land claims under an extensive wait list. Upholding a lower court's ruling, five judges also concluded that as many as 2,721 beneficiaries can pursue land claims that were once up for consideration by a review panel suspended in 1999, said Thomas Grande, attorney for the plaintiffs. By Alexandre Da than 2,700 native Hawaiians can seek monetary damages from the state for its alleged mismanagement of the Hawaiian Home Lands program, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled yesterday.
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