NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
NO. CAAP-12-0000759
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI'I
KE KAILANI DEVELOPMENT LLC, a Hawai'i limited liability
company, and MICHAEL J. FUCHS, Plaintiffs-Appellants
v.
KE KAILANI PARTNERS LLC, a Hawaii limited liability company,
HAWAII RENAISSANCE BUILDERS LLC, a Delaware limited liability
company registerred in Hawai'i, et al., Defendants-Appellees
and
JOHN DOES 1-50, JANE DOES 1-50, DOE PARTNERSHIPS 1-50, DOE
CORPORATIONS 1-50, DOE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES 1-50, DOE
ENTITIES 1-50, and DOE GOVERNMENTAL UNITS 1-50, Defendants
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 11-1-1577)
ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION
(By: Foley, Presiding Judge, Reifurth and Ginoza, JJ.)
Upon review of the record on appeal, it appears that we
do not have jurisdiction over this appeal that Plaintiffs-
Appellants Ke Kailani Development, LLC, and Michael J. Fuchs
(Appellants) have asserted from the Honorable Bert I. Ayabe's
April 23, 2012 judgment, because the April 23, 2012 judgment does
not satisfy the requirements for an appealable final judgment
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
under Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) 641-1(a) (1993 & Supp. 2011),
Rules 54(b) and 58 of the Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP)
and the holding in Jenkins v. Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, 76
Hawai'i 115, 119, 869 P.2d 1334, 1338 (1994).
HRS § 641-1(a) authorizes appeals to the intermediate
court of appeals from final judgments, orders, or decrees.
Appeals under HRS § 641-1 "shall be taken in the manner . . .
provided by the rules of court." HRS § 641-1(c). HRCP Rule 58
requires that "[e]very judgment shall be set forth on a separate
document." Based on HRCP Rule 58, the Supreme Court of Hawai'i
requires that "[a]n appeal may be taken . . . only after the
orders have been reduced to a judgment and the judgment has been
entered in favor of and against the appropriate parties pursuant
to HRCP [Rule] 58[.]" Jenkins, 76 Hawai'i at 119, 869 P.2d at
1338. "[A]n appeal from any judgment will be dismissed as
premature if the judgment does not, on its face, either resolve
all claims against all parties or contain the finding necessary
for certification under HRCP [Rule] 54(b)." Id. (original
emphasis). The finding necessary for certification is "an
express determination that there is no just reason for delay . .
. for the entry of judgment." HRCP Rule 54(b). Therefore, when
a party seeks appellate review of an order that adjudicates one
or more but fewer than all of the claims, the "party cannot
appeal from [the] circuit court order even though the order may
contain [HRCP Rule] 54(b) certification language; the order must
be reduced to a judgment and the [HRCP Rule] 54(b) certification
language must be contained therein." Oppenheimer v. AIG Hawaii
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI'I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Ins. Co., 77 Hawai'i 88, 93, 881 P.2d 1234, 1239 (1994) (emphasis
added).
The April 23, 2012 judgment does not resolve all claims
against all parties in this case. Neither does it contain the
express finding of "no just reason for delay” in the entry of
judgment that is necessary for a judgment on one or more but
fewer than all claims pursuant to HRCP Rule 54(b). Therefore,
under the circumstances, the April 23, 2012 judgment does not
satisfy the requirements for an appealable final judgment under
HRS § 641-1(a), HRCP Rule 54(b), HRCP Rule 58, and the holding in
Jenkins. Absent an appealable final judgment in this case, the
Appellants' appeal is premature and we lack jurisdiction over
Appeal No. CAAP-12-0000759.
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Appeal No. CAAP-12-0000759 is
dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai'i, October 1, 2012.
Presiding Judge
Associate Judge
Associate Judge
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