CAAP-21-0000412, Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 9 a.m.

CHAUNTELLE ACOL, individually and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF PETER J. KEMA, JR., deceased; ALLAN ACOL, and LINA ACOL, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. STATE OF HAWAIʻI, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellant, and PETER KEMA, SR.; JAYLIN KEMA, Defendants-Appellees, and JOHN DOES 1-10, Defendants.

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The above-captioned case has been set for argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Aliʻiōlani Hale, 2^nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

The oral argument will also be livestreamed for public viewing via the Judiciary’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/hawaiicourts and ʻOlelo at olelo.org/tv-schedule/.

Attorneys for Defendant-Appellant STATE OF HAWAIʻI, DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES:
     Caron M. Inagaki and Skyler G. Cruz, Deputy Attorneys General

Attorneys for Plaintiffs-Appellees CHAUNTELLE ACOL, individually and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF PETER J. KEMA, JR., deceased; ALLAN ACOL; and LINA ACOL:
     Randall L.K.M. Rosenberg and Ryan M. Kaufman

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Ginoza, C.J., filed 03/28/22.

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Wadsworth, J., filed 04/08/22.

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Hiraoka, J., filed 04/09/24.

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Guidry, J., filed 04/09/24.

NOTE: Certificate of Recusal, by Nakasone, J., filed 04/10/24.

NOTE: Order assigning Circuit Court Judge James H. Ashford in place of Nakasone, J., recused, filed 04/16/24.

COURT: Leonard, Acting C.J., McCullen, J., and Circuit Judge Ashford, in place of Nakasone, J., recused.

Brief Description:

In this interlocutory appeal, Defendant-Appellant State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Human Services (the State), appeals from the April 26, 2021 Order Denying [the State’s] Motion for Summary Judgment (Order Denying the State’s MSJ), and the April 26, 2021 Order Granting Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment as to the Affirmative Defense of Statute of Limitations (Order Granting Acols’ MPSJ), both entered by the Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Circuit Court).

  Years ago, many people in Hawaiʻi asked, where’s Peter Boy? Underlying this appeal is the undisputed fact that Peter J. Kema, Jr., widely known as Peter Boy, is dead. This case is a wrongful death action brought by Peter Boy’s estate and surviving siblings (the Acols). The complaint alleges that Peter Boy’s death in 1997 at age six was due to neglect and physical abuse inflicted by his parents and the State’s failure to timely investigate reports of abuse and to provide appropriate services.

In the Circuit Court proceedings, the State filed a motion for summary judgment, which was denied, and the Acols filed a motion for partial summary judgment, which was granted.

On appeal, the State contends that the Circuit Court erred in: (1) the Order Denying the State’s MSJ because the Acols lack standing to bring an action under Hawaii’s wrongful death statute, and even if the Acols have standing, the Acols’ claims are untimely and precluded as a matter of law; and (2) the Order Granting the Acols’ MPSJ because the applicable statute of limitations runs from the decedent’s death and the “discovery rule” does not apply in this case.