Opinion
25022
June 21, 2002.
APPEAL FROM THE FIRST CIRCUIT COURT (S.P. NO. 01-1-0403)
MOON, C.J., LEVINSON, NAKAYAMA, RAMIL, AND ACOBA, JJ.
ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL
Upon review of the record, it appears that Respondents-Appellants Lois Business Development Corporation, Pacific Rim Business Development Corporation, and Scott C. Wallace (Appellants) attempt to appeal from two orders that are not, by themselves, appealable: (1) the December 17, 2001 order granting Petitioner-Appellee Jerry Michael Hiatt's motion to compel arbitration; and (2) the March 1, 2002 order granting in part and denying in part the Appellants' motion for reconsideration of the December 17, 2001 order. An appeal may be taken from circuit court orders resolving claims against parties 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 Rule 58 of the Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP). Jenkins v. Cades Schutte Fleming Wright, 76 Hawaii 115, 119, 869 P.2d 1334, 1338 (1994). The circuit court, the Honorable Gary W.B. Chang presiding, did not reduce the orders to a judgment pursuant to HRCP Rule 58. Furthermore, the orders are not appealable under the collateral order doctrine because neither order resolved an important issue completely separate from the merits of the action in S.P. No. 01-1-0403. See Abrams v. Cades, Schutte, Fleming Wright, 88 Hawaii 319, 322, 966 P.2d 631, 634 (1998). Therefore, this appeal is premature, and we lack jurisdiction. Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this appeal is dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction.