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Grande Law Offices and Thomas Grande have litigated public interest cases for more than twenty-five years. Our commitment to service in the public interest for consumers, small business, whistleblowers and government has resulted in:
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Hundreds of millions of dollars awarded to consumers, seniors, small business, and the state and federal governments.
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The first settlement under the Hawai'i False Claims Act.
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The first personal injury class action certification in Hawai'i. |
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The first national qui tam settlement for fraud on a foreign US military base. |
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The highest Medicare and Medicaid fraud settlements in Hawai'i. |
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The highest unfair competition award in Hawai'i. |
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Millions of dollars in cy pres awards to the University of Hawai'i, the Red Cross, Hawai'i Community Foundation, Legal Aid & others.
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Thomas Grande's Interview on Sky Radio's "Tribute to America's Best Lawyers" - Whistleblower Protection in America | | |
University Settles Data Breach Lawsuit
Honolulu, Hawaii January 26, 2012
Grande Law Offices has settled a class action lawsuit on behalf of 100,000 University of Hawai'i alumni, students, faculty, staff and guests who were victims of data breaches. The five data breaches occurred on four campuses between 2009 and 2011.
Class members will receive two years of credit monitoring and credit restoration services.
Class notice will be mailed by March 1, 2012 and will explain how to enroll for class benefits.
Visit http://www.UHDataBreachLawsuit.com for more information.
To read Honolulu Star-Advertiser news coverage, click here.
To read KHON news coverage, click here.
To read KITV news coverage, click here.
To read Hawai'i News Now (KGMB KHNL KFVE) news coverage, click here.
Some of our other cases
2011 was an important year for public interest cases brought by Grande Law Offices.
The
firm obtained certification of a damages class to compensate 2,700
beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust for the state's failure
to award homesteads in a timely manner.
The firm negotiated settlements for the 800 victims of life insurance fraud.
The firm lobbied for changes in the state's data security laws.
Ka Loko Dam Breach Lawsuit Settled
Thomas Grande
announced settlement of a lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of the
March 6, 2006 Ka Loko Dam breach on the island of Kauai. "We are
certainly pleased that we were able to get compensation for our clients,
but it is a tragedy that never shoud have happened," Grande said.
Grande and co-counsel Terersa Tico,
Cronin, Fried Sekiya Kekina & Fairbanks and Davis Levin Livingston
filed the case against twelve defendants, including dam owner James
Pflueger, reservoir owner Mary Lucas Trust, the State of Hawaii and the
County of Kauai. The families of seven persons who lost their lives and
twenty-six homeowners whose property was damaged will receive
compensation. The case was scheduled to begin trial in February 2010 and
was expected to last more than a year.
The
settlement was approved by Fifth Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Watanabe
on October 29, 2009. "It's been a very emotional case," Tico said after
the approval hearing. "This day is great day for justice. It brings
closure to our clients."
To read Honolulu Star-Bulletin news coverage, click here.
To read Hawai'i News Now (KGMB KHNL KFVE) news coverage, click here
Home Lands Case Recertified to Include Damages
Judge Virginia Crandall has recertified the Hawaiian Home Lands case to include the amount of damages to be awarded. For updates on the case, please go to http://www.Kalima-Lawsuit.com.
Homeowner Class Action Settled
Grande Law Offices
and Wayson Wong have obtained settled a construction defect class
action on behalf of homeowners at the SummerHill Subdivision in Ewa,
Hawaii. The case, which was filed
in 2001, will give more than 100 homeowners extended warranties and
compensation for past and future damages. The houses have a defective
foam skit that allows ground termites to enter the homes undetected.
"This was a case that required tremendous perservence," said Thomas Grande.
"The case was first dismissed because of an arbitration clause that we
defeated in an important Hawai'i Supreme Court decision on homeowner
arbitrations," Grande noted. "After our first certification hearing,
Defendants were allowed to take nineteen depositions of potential class
members."
Grande commended co-counsel Wayson
Wong, who handled all of the nineteen depositions. "Wayson displayed
true dedication to this case. The SummerHill homeowners made the right
choice when they asked him to represent them in the case," Grande noted.
Grande
said that the settlement was unprecedented. "The settlement gives the
homeowners a twenty-five year warranty against termite damage, which is
unprecedented in my experience," Grande said. Grande estimated the
settlement value at $8,000 per house, or almost $1 million for the
class.
To read a copy of the Supreme Court decision,
State Found Liable in Home Lands Case
Thomas Grande announced a decision by Judge Eden E. Hifo, who ruled that the State of Hawai'i is liable for breaches of trust to Native Hawaiian beneficiaries of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust that led to delays in homestead awards.
“The Court held the State liable for failing to award homesteads to our clients between 1959 and 1988,” Grande explained. “Some of our clients waited more than thirty years or more for a homestead award and some still are waiting,” Grande said.
The case was filed in 1999 by Grande and co-counsel Carl Varady on behalf of a group of Hawaiian Home Lands Trust beneficiaries. These beneficiaries filed breach of trust claims with an administrative panel set up by the State of Hawai'i in 1991. When the State did not complete the administrative process and shut down the panel in 1999, the lawsuit was filed.
Judge Hifo found that “the primary reason for the trust was and is to award eligible beneficiaries homesteads. Failure to do so constitutes breach of the trust and applicable trust duties…” Kalima v. State, Civil No. 99-04771-12(EEH) November 3, 2009 Decision Regarding Liability and Legal Causation Following Bifurcated Trial on Aforesaid issues (“Decision”) ¶ 10 at 12.
Judge Hifo also found that “By any measure and any method the clear and convincing evidence proves the award of significantly more homesteads would have occurred during the claims period if the Defendant State had cured its own breaches and those of the predecessor trustee for which the State became equally responsible as the successor trustee..."Decision, ¶ 15 at 14.
Among the breaches of trust by the State were the following:
• DHHL could not qualify to issue bonds to fund homesteads because DHHL financial records were lost from 1962 to 1972 and DHHL did not meet general accounting standards until 1985. Decision ¶ 4 at 6-7.
• “The State took no action to identify the [DHHL] land inventory during most or all of the claims period…Failure to ascertain the property within the trust and to correct that same failure by the predecessor trustee [the United States] constitution breach of trust by the State…” Decision ¶ 5 at 8.
• It is undisputed that more than 29,000 acres of Hawaiian home lands were withdrawn from the trust by executive orders or proclamations [which]…provided no compensation to the trust” This land was valued at more than $100 million. Decision ¶ 5 at 8.
“We want to thank our clients for their support and their patience. We are committed to seeing this case through to its successful conclusion,” Grande noted.
To read Honolulu Star-Bulletin news coverage, click here.
To read Hawai'i News Now (KGMB KHNL KFVE) news coverage, click here.
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$2.5 Million Recovered in Queens Medicare Fraud Case
Thomas Grande and co-counsel Warren Price of Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum recovered $2.5 million in a qui tam case filed on behalf of two pharmacy technicians at The Queens Hospital in Honolulu.
The case alleged that Queens filed fraudulent Medicare and Medicaid claims by allowing residents to perform unsupervised medical procedures and allowing medications to be prescribed without the authorization of a supervising physician.
"This case ensures that hospitals and doctors will follow public health insurance guidelines for the elderly who are served by Medicare and the poor who are served by Medicaid," said Mr. Grande. "These guidelines ensure that quality and appropriate medical treatment is given to all of our citizens, especially those who are most vulnerable in our population," he said.
The lawsuit was filed under the federal False Claims Act and Hawai'i False Claims Act and was settled with the assistance of the United States Attorneys Office and state Medicaid fraud unit.
Edward H. Kubo, Jr., United States Attorney for the District of Hawai'i, praised the two whistleblowers for their courage in coming forward with the case.
To see Honolulu Star-Bulletin news coverage, click here.
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