(Consolidated with SCWC-25-0000526, SCWC-25-0000527, and SCWC-25-0000528)

IN THE MATTER OF THE TAX APPEAL OF PM & AM RESEARCH, INC., Petitioner/Appellant-Appellant, vs. STATE OF HAWAI‘I, Respondent/Appellee-Appellee

The above-captioned consolidated cases have been set for oral argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Ali‘iōlani Hale, 2nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

The oral argument will also be live streamed for public viewing via the Judiciary’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/hawaiicourts.

Attorney for Petitioner/Appellant-Appellant PM & AM RESEARCH, INC.:
     Benjamin E. Lowenthal of The Law Office of Benjamin E. Lowenthal

Attorneys for Respondent/Appellee-Appellee STATE OF HAWAI‘I:
     Nathan S. C. Chee and Janine R. Udui, Deputy Attorneys General

NOTE: Order assigning Circuit Judge Jordon J. Kimura, due to a vacancy filed, 12/16/25.

NOTE: Order accepting Application for Writ of Certiorari, filed 01/05/26.

COURT:  McKenna, Acting C.J., Eddins, Ginoza, and Devens, JJ., and Circuit Judge Kimura, assigned by reason of vacancy.

Brief Description:

These consolidated cases consist of four tax appeals that were dismissed for lack of jurisdiction by the Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) because, according to the ICA, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 235-114(a) requires payment of the assessed general excise taxes plus interest to appeal a Tax Appeal Court’s order to the ICA, and Appellants did not comply with HRS § 235-114(a)’s requirement of paying the assessed taxes plus interest.

There is a provision in HRS § 235-114(a) that exempts payment of the assessed taxes on “first appeal” to the Tax Appeal Court.  On certiorari, we consider whether this statutory exemption should also apply on appeal to the ICA when the Tax Appeal Court dismissed these four cases for lack of jurisdiction.