Opinion
CAAP-22-0000393 CAAP-22-0000510
11-07-2022
AERICA CATES, individually and as Guardian Prochien Ami for JANE DOE, a minor, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. STATE OF HAWAI'I; NICK PRIETO, Defendants-Appellees, and JOHN DOES 1-10, Defendants.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAII REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTH CIRCUIT (CIVIL NO. 5CC181000124)
Leonard, Presiding Judge, Nakasone and Chan, JJ.
ORDER (1) DISMISSING APPEAL IN CAAP-22-0000393 AND (2) DENYING MOTION TO CONSOLIDATE APPEALS IN CAAP-22-0000510
Upon consideration of Plaintiff-Appellant Aerica Cates's (Cates) October 20, 2022 "Motion to Consolidate Appeals in CAAP-22-393 and CAAP-22-510" (Motion), filed in case numbers CAAP-22-0000393 and CAAP-22-0000510, the papers in support, and the record in case numbers CAAP-22-0000393 and CAAP-22-0000510, it appears that:
(1) Cates seeks to consolidate the appeals in case numbers CAAP-22-0000393 and CAAP-22-0000510;
(2) In case number CAAP-22-0000393, Cates appeals from the Circuit Court of the Fifth Circuit's (Circuit Court) May 27, 2022 "Order Granting Defendant State of Hawaii's Motion for Summary Judgment, Filed on April 4, 2022" (MSJ Order);
(3) Thereafter, the Circuit Court clerk filed a Clerk's Taxation of Costs (Clerk's Taxation) in favor of Defendant-Appellee State of Hawai'i (State) and against Cates pursuant to Hawai'i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP) Rule 54(d)(1), and the Circuit Court entered judgment (Judgment) in favor of the State and against Cates, in accordance with the MSJ Order and the Clerk's Taxation, which further dismissed all remaining claims;
(4) In case number CAAP-22-0000510, Cates appeals from the MSJ Order, Clerk's Taxation, and Judgment. The Judgment is a final, appealable judgment, HRCP Rule 58, Jenkins v. Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright, 76 Hawai'i 115, 119, 869 P.2d 1334, 1338 (1994), and the notice of appeal filed in CAAP-22-0000510 was timely, Hawai'i Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 4(a) (1); and
(5) Therefore, the appeal in case number CAAP-22-0000393 is duplicative and unnecessary, as the court will review all prior interlocutory orders, including the MSJ Order, when it considers the appeal in case number CAAP-22-0000510 on the merits. Ueoka v. Szymanski, 107 Hawai'i 386, 396, 114 P.3d 892, 902 (2005). Accordingly, the court will sua sponte dismiss the appeal in case number CAAP-22-0000393, making the requests for consolidation moot. Ogeone v. Au, No. CAAP-18-0000190, 2019 WL 972542, at *1 (App. Feb. 27, 2019) (Order).
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the appeal in case number CAAP-22-0000393 is dismissed as unnecessary, and all pending motions in CAAP-22-0000393 are dismissed as moot.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Motion filed in CAAP-22-0000510 is denied as moot.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the appellate clerk shall file this order in case numbers CAAP-22-0000393 and CAAP-22-0000510.