Shea v. City and County of Honolulu

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

NAKAMURA, J.

The City and County of Honolulu appeals from a judgment in a personal injury action brought by John Michael Shea against a host of defendants, including John Does I to X and John Doe Corporations I to X who remain unidentified. The dispositive question is whether a statement attributed by the plaintiff to an unknown out-of-court declarant should have been admitted as evidence. Concluding it should not have been, we set aside the judgment and remand the case for retrial.

I

A

Shea was injured on May 6, 1979 when his motorcycle veered from an Ewa-bound lane of…