Kiehm v. Adams

Dissenting Opinion by

ACOBA, J.

I respectfully dissent.

I believe that in conformance with the Residential Landlord Tenant Code (the Code), (1) rental agreements existed between Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee Susan Kiehm (Kiehm) and Tammy Ayau (Ayau) as well as between Ayau and Petitioner/Defendanb-Ap-pellant Ian Adams, and, thus, (2) Adams was a sublessee of Ayau. In my view, the majority’s holding that Adams was a licensee cannot be sustained under the Code’s provisions. The majority acknowledges the broad definition of “rental agreement” in Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 521-8, but chooses…