Kealoha v. Espinda

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
09-AUG-2024
08:13 AM
Dkt. 66 ORD

NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX

IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I

KRISTOPHER KEALOHA, Plaintiff-Appellee,
and
WALTER R. SCHOETTLE, Real Party In Interest-Appellant,
v.
NOLAN ESPINDA, FRANCIS SEQUEIRA, LYLE ANTONIO, MICHAEL HOFFMAN,
SHARI KIMOTO, DOVIE BORGES, DALLEN PALEKA, MONICA CHUN, JOHN
MAGUIRE, and JOHN CREGOR, Defendants-Appellees,
and
PAULO FAASUAMANU, KAIPO FIATAO, JOSH AKEO, and DENNIS NAGANUMA,
Defendants-Appellees

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 1CC181000773)

ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL 1
(By: Leonard, Acting Chief Judge, Hiraoka, Nakasone, JJ.)

In this appeal, self-represented Real Party-in-
Interest-Appellant Walter R. Schoettle (Schoettle), formerly the

1 As this is a dismissal order, no judgment will be entered.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

plaintiff's attorney, 2 challenges the Circuit Court of the First
Circuit's (Circuit Court) 3 award of the defendants' attorney's
fees and costs as a discovery sanction against the plaintiff.
The plaintiff did not appeal. We dismiss for lack of standing.
Schoettle appeals from the Circuit Court's January 28,
2020 "Order Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs to [Defendants-
Appellees] Nolan Espinda, Francis Sequeira, Lyle Antonio,
Michael Hoffman, Shari Kimoto, Dovie Borges, Dallen Paleka,
Monica Chun, John Maguire, and John Cregor [(collectively,
Defendants)]" (Order Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs) and
from the August 11, 2020 "Order Denying Plaintiff's Motion for
Relief from Order Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs" (Order
Denying Relief).
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised, we dismiss.
On May 17, 2018, Plaintiff Kristopher Kealoha
(Plaintiff) filed a Complaint against numerous State employee
defendants, alleging a conspiracy to commit civil rights
violations and intentional infliction of severe emotional
distress.
Following a November 25, 2019 hearing, the Circuit
Court issued a December 24, 2019 order granting Defendants'
Motion to Compel Discovery, which stated: "Plaintiff must pay
Defendants' reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in
bringing this motion[.]"

2 On April 1, 2021, after this appeal was filed, the Circuit Court
granted Schoettle's "Motion to Withdraw" as the plaintiff's counsel.

3 The Honorable Jeffrey P. Crabtree presided.

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

On January 28, 2020, the Circuit Court filed the Order
Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs of $1,825.00 to Defendants.
The same day, although it is not entirely clear, it appears that
Schoettle filed on his own behalf, and not Plaintiff's, a
"Motion for Relief from Order Awarding Attorney's Fees and
Costs" (Motion for Relief), 4 which the Circuit Court denied.
Schoettle did not claim to be a real party-in-interest.
Schoettle did not seek to intervene, permissibly or by right——
therefore no request for intervention was denied——and Schoettle
did not otherwise assert that he was entitled to party status.
Schoettle timely filed a Notice of Appeal. 5 It is
clear that Schoettle filed the Notice of Appeal on his own
behalf, not the Plaintiff's, as he identifies himself as the
Appellant pro se.
We conclude that Schoettle, who was not a party to the
underlying action, lacks standing to appeal the Order Awarding
Attorney's Fees and Costs and the Order Denying Relief.

Generally, the requirements of standing to appeal are: (1)
the person must first have been a party to the action; (2)
the person seeking modification of the order or judgment
must have had standing to oppose it in the trial court; and
(3) such person must be aggrieved by the ruling, i.e., the
person must be one who is affected or prejudiced by the
appealable order.

Abaya v. Mantell, 112 Hawai‘i 176, 181, 145 P.3d 719, 724 (2006)
(quoting Kepo‘o v. Watson, 87 Hawai‘i 91, 95, 952 P.2d 379, 383
(1998)).

4 The Motion for Relief stated, "Comes now, WALTER R. SCHOETTLE,
pursuant to [Hawai‘i Rules of Civil Procedure (HRCP)], Rule 60(b)(6), and
seeks relief from the Order Awarding Attorney's Fees and Costs, filed January
28, 2020, upon the grounds that said award is not authorized by [HRCP], Rule
37."

5 The Notice of Appeal denotes Schoettle as "Appellant" and
"Appellant, pro se."

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAIʻI REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

Here, Schoettle was not a party to the underlying
action, and lacked standing to challenge these orders in the
trial court. See id. As Defendants correctly point out, the
December 24, 2019 order that first triggered Plaintiff's
obligation to pay Defendants' attorney's fees and costs
expressly stated that "Plaintiff must pay Defendants' reasonable
attorney's fees and costs incurred in bringing this motion."
Schoettle was not "aggrieved" by the Order Awarding Defendants'
Attorney's Fees and Costs, or the related Order Denying Relief,
and lacks standing to bring this appeal. See id.
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this appeal is
dismissed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, August 9, 2024.

/s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Acting Chief Judge

/s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Associate Judge

/s/ Karen T. Nakasone
Associate Judge

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