Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14

Suits by the State; amount of recovery.

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section HI-LEGcapitol.hawaii.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

§480-14 Suits by the State; amount of recovery. (a) Whenever the State or any of its political subdivisions or governmental agencies is injured, directly or indirectly, in its business or property by reason of anything forbidden or declared unlawful by this chapter, it may sue to recover threefold the actual damages sustained by it, whether directly or indirectly. The attorney general may bring an action on behalf of the State or any of its political subdivisions or governmental agencies to recover the damages provided for by this section, or by any comparable provisions of federal law.

(b) The attorney general of the State shall be authorized to bring a class action for indirect purchasers asserting claims under this chapter. The attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection may bring a class action on behalf of consumers based on unfair or deceptive acts or practices declared unlawful by section 480-2. Actions brought under this subsection shall be brought as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in the State to secure threefold damages for injuries sustained by the natural persons to their property by reason of any violation of this chapter.

(c) If judgment is in favor of the State or any of its political subdivisions or governmental agencies under any provision of this chapter, the attorney general or the director of the office of consumer protection shall be awarded reasonable attorney's fees together with the cost of suit; provided that in any class action lawsuit brought by the attorney general on behalf of indirect purchasers, the attorney general shall in addition be awarded an amount commensurate with expenses reasonably expected to be expended in distribution of damages to the indirect purchasers. [L 1961, c 190, §12; Supp, §205A-12; HRS §480-14; am L 1980, c 69, §2; am L 1981, c 22, §1; am L 1987, c 274, §5; am L 1988, c 60, §2 and c 141, §§52, 53; am L 2001, c 79, §2; am L 2002, c 229, §4; am L 2003, c 13, §1; am L 2008, c 19, §5; am L 2011, c 66, §1]

Case Notes

Defendants contended that under subsection (b), any action brought by the attorney general on behalf of consumers was perforce a class action; however, because the complaints unambiguously disclaimed class status, the actions could not be removed under the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. 761 F.3d 1027 (2014).

District court rejected the attorney general's interpretation of subsection (b) as authorizing the attorney general to bring parens patriae suits regarding violations of §480-2 as either a class action or a non-class action. If the attorney general brings an action to recover damages on behalf of Hawaii consumers pursuant to subsection (b), the attorney general can only do so in a parens patriae class action. 907 F. Supp. 2d 1188 (2012).

The statement in subsection (b) that the attorney general "may bring a class action" is merely a recognition that the attorney general has the discretion, as opposed to a statutory obligation, to bring a parens patriae class action in response to violations of §480-2. 907 F. Supp. 2d 1188 (2012).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1989–2025 · leading case: Hawaii ex rel. Louie v. JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Hawaii ex rel. Louie v. JP Morgan Chase & Co. (2012) hid · cites it 33× “Defendants assert that the applicable authority is § 480-14(b), which provides that such actions are class actions, and Defendants point out that the Complaints specifically cite § 480-14 as the source of the Attorney General’s authority to bring these cases.”

California v. Infineon Technologies AG (2007) cand · cites it 4× “6 §§ 2105, 2108; Haw.Rev.Stat. § 480-14(b); Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann.”

State v. LG Electronics, Inc. (2016) wash · cites it 2× “22 (2); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14 (b); Idaho Code § 48-108 (2); 740 Ill.”

Davis v. Four Seasons Hotel Ltd. (2010) haw · cites it 2× “e awarded a sum not less than $1,000 or threefold damages by the plaintiff sustained, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney's fees together with the costs of suit; provided that indirect purchasers injured by an illegal overcharge shall recover only compensatory…”

California v. ARC America Corp. (1989) scotus “Code § 28-4509(a) (1981); Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14 (c) (1985); Ill.”

Federal Trade Commission v. Mylan Laboratories, Inc. (2002) dcd “Code § 28-4507(b); Haw.Rev.Stat. § 480-14(c); Idaho Code § 48-108 (2)-(4); Mass.”

Luke v. Gentry Realty, Ltd. (2004) haw “(c) The remedies provided in subsections (a) and (b) shall be applied in class action and de facto class action lawsuits or proceedings including actions brought in behalf of direct purchasers, and actions brought in behalf of indirect purchasers by the attorney general under…”

Pacific Radiation Oncology, LLC v. Queen's Medical Center (2012) hid “e awarded a sum not less than $1,000 or threefold damages by the plaintiff sustained, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney’s fees together with the costs of suit; provided that indirect purchasers injured by an illegal overcharge shall recover only compensatory…”

California v. Arc America Corp. (1989) scotus “Code § 28-4509(a) (1981); Haw. Rev. Stat. §480-14 (c) (1985); 111.”

State of Hawai'i, Ex. Rel. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General v. CaremarkPCS Health, L.L.C. (2024) hid · cites it 3× “] The State brings the following claims: a deceptive acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count I”); an unfair acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count II”); a UMOC claim under Section 480-2 (“Count III”); and a claim, pursuant to Section 480-2 and Hawai`i…”

State of Hawai'i, Ex. Rel. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General v. CaremarkPCS Health, L.L.C. (2024) hid · cites it 2× “rings the following claims: a deceptive acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count I”); an unfair acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count II”); a UMOC claim under Section 480-2 (“Count III”); and a claim for treble damages pursuant to Section 480-2 and…”

Na Po'e Kokua v. Bank of America Corporation (2023) hid “§ 480-14. A non-government entity may also bring suit on behalf of another through the doctrine of associational standing.”

Show all 13 citing cases →

— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14(a) — 1 case

State of Hawai'i, Ex. Rel. Anne E. Lopez, Attorney General v. CaremarkPCS Health, L.L.C. (2024) hid “] The State brings the following claims: a deceptive acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count I”); an unfair acts and practices claim under Section 480-2 (“Count II”); a UMOC claim under Section 480-2 (“Count III”); and a claim, pursuant to Section 480-2 and Hawai`i…”

— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14(b) — 2 cases

Hawaii ex rel. Louie v. JP Morgan Chase & Co. (2012) hid “Defendants assert that the applicable authority is § 480-14(b), which provides that such actions are class actions, and Defendants point out that the Complaints specifically cite § 480-14 as the source of the Attorney General’s authority to bring these cases.”

California v. Infineon Technologies AG (2007) cand “6 §§ 2105, 2108; Haw.Rev.Stat. § 480-14(b); Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann.”

— Haw. Rev. Stat. § 480-14(c) — 4 cases

Davis v. Four Seasons Hotel Ltd. (2010) haw “e awarded a sum not less than $1,000 or threefold damages by the plaintiff sustained, whichever sum is the greater, and reasonable attorney's fees together with the costs of suit; provided that indirect purchasers injured by an illegal overcharge shall recover only compensatory…”

Federal Trade Commission v. Mylan Laboratories, Inc. (2002) dcd “Code § 28-4507(b); Haw.Rev.Stat. § 480-14(c); Idaho Code § 48-108 (2)-(4); Mass.”

California v. Infineon Technologies AG (2007) cand “6 §§ 2105, 2108; Haw.Rev.Stat. § 480-14(b); Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.