Honolulu Construction & Draying Co. v. State, Department of Land & Natural Resources

Opinion of the Court by

ACOBA, J.

We hold that the Land Court (the court) 1 was right in awarding attorneys’ fees and costs under the private attorney general doctrine, see Sierra Club v. Dep’t of Transp. of State of Hawai’i, 120 Hawai'i 181, 218, 202 P.3d 1226, 1263 (2009) (Sierra Club II), to Petitioner/Respondenfr-Cross-Appellee Scenic Hawaii, Inc. (Scenic Hawaii) 2 , inasmuch as (1) the subject litigation vindicated the important public policy of preserving public parks and historic sites,(2) the early and prompt intervention of Scenic Hawaii was necessary in light of the efforts by Aloha…