The Torrens system of land title registration was first adopted in Haw. in 1903 under Act 56, and is now codified in Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) chapter 501. In re Estate of Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 358, 662 P.2d 206, 207-09 (1983). It is within this context that we consider Respondent's petition to amend Mason's certificate of title.
Hawaii Revised Statutes ("HRS") Chapter 501 provides for the registration of title with the Land Court, "under which, upon the landowner's application, the court may, after appropriate proceedings, direct the issuance of a certificate of title." Tilley, 2018 WL 1415171, at *5 (citing In re Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 662 P.2d 206, 208-09 (Haw. 1983)). The "purpose of the registration system is to conclusively establish title to land through the issuance of a certificate of title."
Hawaii Revised Statutes ("HRS") Chapter 501 provides for the registration of title with the Land Court, "under which, upon the landowner's application, the court may, after appropriate proceedings, direct the issuance of a certificate of title." Tilley, 2018 WL 1415171, at *5 (citing In re Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 662 P.2d 206, 208-09 (Haw. 1983)). The "purpose of the registration system is to conclusively establish title to land through the issuance of a certificate of title."
The system codified in Chapter 501 is a "system for registration of land under which, upon the landowner's application, the court may, after appropriate proceedings, direct the issuance of a certificate of title." In re Campbell, 662 P.2d 206, 208-09 (Haw. 1983). The purpose of the registration system is to conclusively establish title to land through the issuance of a certificate of title. Bank of New York Mellon v. R. Onaga, Inc., 400 P.3d 559, 569 (Haw. 2017).
The system of land title registration adopted by the Torrens Land Act and codified in HRS chapter 501 is "a system for registration of land under which, upon the landowner's application, the court may, after appropriate proceedings, direct the issuance of a certificate of title." In re Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 358, 662 P.2d 206, 209 (1983). The purpose of this "registration system is to conclusively establish title to land through the issuance of a certificate of title."
Land Court is a court of limited jurisdiction created for the special purpose of carrying into effect the Torrens title system of land registration. See In re Estate of Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 662 P.2d 206 (1983). In recording a deed, pursuant to Land Court Rule 59, a purchaser must "present[] the deed which contains the proper number of the certificate of the land affected and also contains or has endorsed upon it a full memorandum of all encumbrances affecting the land, if any, or a statement that there are no outstanding encumbrances affecting the land[.]"
All of the properties referred to in the opinion are shown on various maps filed with Land Court Application No. 551, and are registered under the Torrens title system of land registration, provided for in Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) chapter 501 (1976). In re Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 662 P.2d 206 (1983). The lot numbers shown on the diagram are their land court registration numbers, and all references to maps in the opinion are to those filed with Land Court Application No. 551.
All lots involved in this case are Land Court registered land under Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 501, the statute establishing the Torrens title system in Hawaii. See In re Will Estate of Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 662 P.2d 206 (1983). TOGETHER with the perpetual right of ingress and egress over the 10-foot strip of land on the Ewa [western] side of [Lots 2-C-1 and 2-E-1], known and designated as Lot 2-B on said Map No. 20, and subject to any prior easements created and existing upon said Lot 2-B.
The land court has limited jurisdiction under the statutes. In re Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 358, 662 P.2d 206, 209 (1983); In re Damon, 5 Haw. App. 304, 689 P.2d 204 (1984). We find nothing in the statutes or our case law indicating that the land court has exclusive jurisdiction over matters affecting registered land.
We agree with appellants that the land court is a court of limited jurisdiction for the supreme court has stated that it "derives all of its power from the statutes relating to it, and can exercise no power not found within these statutes." In re Application of Estate of Campbell, 66 Haw. 354, 358, 662 P.2d 206, 209 (1983) (quoting In re Rosenbledt, 24 Haw. 298, 308 (1918)). However, we do not agree that its jurisdiction is limited to proceedings in rem against the land.