Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 1, Number 10, 1 December 1984 — Trustees Approve Litigation Grant [ARTICLE]

Trustees Approve Litigation Grant

The Board ol Trustees of the Olliee ol Hawaiian Affairs on Nov. 2 unanimouslv approved a 53.000 litigation grant to Attorney H.K. Bruss Keppeler forthe purpo.se of filing an "amicus curiae"briefinsupport of the Bishop Estate's challenge to Hawaii's so called I.and Reform Act. Although the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the validity of the law on May 30 of this year, the matter is still before the State Supreme Court. This case involves a group of Kamiloiki Valley homeowners who in 1982 attempted to purchase thc fee simple interest in their Bishop Estate houselots under the 1967 leasehold con\ersion law. Bishop Estate is appealing a C"ircuit Court decision that the law is constitutional. Eollowing thc Nov. 2 vote. OH A Chairman ,Ioseph

Kealoha said the leasehold conversion law is an attempt to dismantle a trust created by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop for the benefit ol children of Hawaiian ancestry. The Kamehameha Schools arethe sole beneficiary ol Bishop Estate. Responding to claims that the law is designed to alleviate a shortage of residential fee simple property at reasonable prices, Kealoha said. "the only possible result of applying the law would be to convert leasehold lots to fee simple. It would not provide one bit of additional housing. nor would it reduce the cost of housing in Hawaii." Kealoha called the law "an unconstitutional taking of private property from one individual for the benefit ol another individual. I n no way ean this be considered a puhlie purpose."