Kahale v. City and County of Honolulu

FOR PUBLICATION The plaintiffs-appellants Francis Kahale, Jr. (Francis), individually, and Rachael Kahale (Rachael), individually and as next friend of Brandzie Kahale (Brandzie), a minor [collectively, the ""Plaintiffs""], appeal from (1) the September 29, 2000 order of the first circuit court, the Honorable Sabrina S. McKenna presiding, granting the motion of the defendant-appellee City and County of Honolulu (the ""City"") for summary judgment, and (2) the November 9, 2000 judgment, signed by Judge McKenna, in favor of the City and against the Plaintiffs. On appeal, the Plaintiffs contend that, inasmuch as they brought suit against the City pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 657-7 (1993),1 the circuit court erred in concluding that the statute of limitations governing their claims was not tolled by the provisions of HRS § 657-13(1) (1993).2 In response, the City argues that the Plaintiffs actually brought their claim against the City pursuant to HRS § 662-4 (1993),3 rather than HRS § 657-7, and that HRS § 657-13 does not apply to actions commenced under HRS § 662-4, such that the statute of limitations was not subject to the tolling provisions of HRS § 657-13 and had run over a year prior to the date on which the Plaintiffs filed their complaint.