Hawaii Federal District Court Affirms City Council's Lease Rent Repeal

On June 24, 2005, I reported on a hearing held by Judge Ezra in a lawsuit involving the repeal of the Mandatory Conversion law by the City and County of Honolulu by Ordinance 05-001.

The case arose because apartment owners in the middle of the condemnation process were prevented by the City from continuing the process. The Honolulu Honolulu Star-Bulletin has reported that Judge Ezra has ruled on the case, denying the challenge. Judge Ezra stated that:

The fair and wise decision, from the perspective of the city, would have been to draft the repeal of Chapter 38 so as to allow those leaseholders ... who have begun in good faith the process of conversion to be grandfathered in.

Despite this, Judge Ezra ruled that the City acted within its legal limits in prohibited these leaseholders from completing the Chapter 38 process.