Potter v. Hawaii Newspaper Agency

Opinion of the Court by

LEVINSON, J.

This case arises from an accident that occurred when the fourteen-year-old claimant-appellant, Shawn Potter, was struck by an automobile while he was riding a moped. Potter was a “newspaper dealer” for the employer-appellee Hawaii Newspaper Agency (the HNA) at the time, pursuant to an “independent contractor agreement.” The moped was owned by an HNA employee, Shawn Toyozaki, who was Potter’s district manager. Potter subsequently filed a civil lawsuit against the driver of the automobile, Toyozaki, and the HNA. Six months after the lawsuit was filed, the HNA…