Grande Named National Trial Lawyer of the Year
Washington, DC July 21, 2021
Thomas Grande and co-counsel Carl Varady have been named National Trial Lawyers of the Year by Public Justice for their work on the Kalima v State case. To view the video shown at the celebration gala, click here. To read Mr. Grande’s acceptance speech, click here
Native Hawaiian Bar Association – Hawaiian Claims Office & Kalima v State
Honolulu, Hawaii July 1, 2021
Thomas Grande, co-counsel Carl Varady and former Governor John Waihe’e joined host Melody McKenzie to discuss that Hawaiian Claims Office and the Kalima v State of Hawaii lawsuit. To find out more about NHBA, click here.
Kalima v State – A Class Action Case Study
Honolulu June 9, 2021
This seminar provides an overview of the Hawai’i class action rule (HRCP 23) and its potential for innovative use in complex, multi-party litigation using Kalima v State as a case example. Kalima involved five successive class certifications over 22 years. To listen to the program, click here.
The Conversation: The Past, Present and Future of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
Honolulu, Hawaii July 9, 2021
Thomas Grande, Robin Danner, Chair of the Sovereign Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations, and William Aila, Director of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, discuss the past, present and future of the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust with Hawai’i Public Radio moderator Catherine Cruz. To listen to the program, click here.
Whistleblower Protection in America
Thomas Grande on Qui Tam (False Claims Act) Law – Electric Sky
Thomas Grande’s Interview on Sky Radio’s “Tribute to America’s Best Lawyers” – Whistleblower Protection in America
BOOKS
Survey of State Class Action Law
Thomas R. Grande, Editor in Chief Emeritus
Mr. Grande co-founded the first survey of state class action law in 1999, was co-Editor-in-Chief until 2004 and was named Editor-in-Chief Emeritus in 2005.
Newberg on Class Actions (4th Ed.)
The Survey of State Class Action Law is distributed at the annual American Bar Association Class Action Symposium and as a stand-alone supplement to Newberg on Class Actions (4th Ed. Thompson West).
Consumer Class Actions (9th Ed.)
Thomas R. Grande, Contributing Author
Mr. Grande is a Contributing Author to Consumer Class Actions, published by the National Consumer Law Center.
Unfair & Deceptive Acts & Practices (9th Ed.)
Thomas R. Grande, Contributing Author
Mr. Grande is a Contributing Author to Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices, published by the National Consumer Law Center.
Federal Deception Law (lst Ed.)
Thomas R. Grande, Contributing Author
Mr. Grande is a Contributing Author to Federal Deception Law published by the National Consumer Law Center.
Litigating the Class Action Lawsuit in Hawai’i
Thomas R. Grande, Co-Author
Mr. Grande is a Co-Author of Litigating the Class Action Lawsuit in Hawai’i published by the National Business Institute.
EDITORIALS
Island Voices Editorial – Government Contributes to Problem of Illegal Dumping in Waimanalo
Honolulu, Hawai’i December 29, 2019
Click here to read Thomas Grande’s Island Voices editorial in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about government’s role in illegal dumping in Waimanalo Valley. Grande has been a Waimanalo resident since 1976 and worked there as a VISTA volunteer and community organizer.
Grande is a plaintiff pro se in a lawsuit against the State of Hawai’i, City and County of Honolulu and Windward Soil and Water Conservation District to remove an illegal landfill and dumpsite on state property. To read more about how government fails to regulate illegal dumping on agricultural land by Conservation District cooperators, click here.
Grande Editorial on Protecting Whistleblowers
Click here to read Thomas Grande’s editorial on effective ways to bring whistleblower complaints to light published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
KALIMA V STATE
Court Rules In Favor of Homelands Beneficiaries
KITV Channel 4
July 1, 2020
The Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled in favor of Hawaiian homelands beneficiaries. Some have been on the waitlists for years, even decades.
The ruling means the state could pay tens of millions of dollars to beneficiaries. It affects the more than 2700 people on the list– some who have died since the lawsuit was filed back in 1991.
To reach the full article, click here.
Plaintiffs Claim Win in Hawaiian Homelands Suit
By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser
November 13, 2017
The plaintiffs in a long-running class-action lawsuit over long waits for Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead lots have scored what they consider another crucial victory in court.
Barring a last-minute production of documents, the state no longer can challenge whether potentially hundreds of plaintiffs whose DHHL files are missing or incomplete are entitled to damages — thanks to an Oct. 30 ruling by Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys….
To read the full article, click here.
Plaintiffs Still Await Data in Hawaiian Homestead Suit
By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser
October 30, 2016
Seven years after a favorable court ruling, the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the state and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands are still waiting for state documents they consider essential for calculating damages related to long waits for homesteads.
Attorneys for the 2,700 plaintiffs say at least 600 files are missing, slowing the litigation process and reflecting abysmal record keeping by DHHL….
To read the full article, click here.
In Hawaiian Homelands Suit, Plaintiffs Ask for Special Master
By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser
July 23, 2014
At age 87, Irene Cordeiro-Vierra doesn’t expect to see a penny of relief from the state before she dies.
“Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever get anything,” Cordeiro-Vierra says, blaming the state for what she considers delayed justice.
The Laie resident and former waitress is one of more than 2,700 Native Hawaiians or their heirs who are waiting for the state to pay damages for failing to deliver Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homestead lots on a timely basis.
Even though a judge more than four years ago found the state liable for breach of trust in a class-action lawsuit the plaintiffs filed in 1999, the case still is moving slowly through the damages phase and is far from being resolved. A recent attempt at court-ordered mediation failed to yield a settlement…
To read the full article, click here.
Long Wait for Justice
By Rob Perez Honolulu Star-Advertiser
July 14, 2013
Caroline Bright applied for a homestead lease in 1959, the year Hawaii became a state.
She died last year at age 87, still waiting for one.
“She gave up on them,” said her daughter, singer Teresa Bright. “She lost hope.”
Caroline Bright was part of a class-action lawsuit filed nearly 14 years ago against the state for breaching its trust obligation to get Native Hawaiian beneficiaries onto homestead lots.
After a six-week trial in 2009, a state judge ruled that the state and Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which manages the 203,000-acre trust on behalf of beneficiaries, breached their fiduciary duty by not issuing homesteads on a timely basis. Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo also determined that the breaches of trust from 1959 to 1988 caused the plaintiffs economic harm and that the state must pay compensation….
To read the full article, click here.
Judge Rules State Breached Home Lands Trust
Craig Gima Honolulu Star-Bulletin
November 5, 2009
After a 10-year court battle and decades of waiting in vain for homesteads, plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit won a judgment against the state for failing to promptly award home lots to native Hawaiians under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust.
Circuit Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo ruled Tuesday that the state failed in its trust responsibilities and the plaintiffs should receive monetary damages….
To read Honolulu Star-Bulletin news coverage, click here.
Court rules state failed on trust lands (11/5/2009)
Court rules State found liable for taking too long to award leases to Native Hawaiians (11/5/2009)
Other Cases
Grande’s Editorial on Protecting Whistleblowers
SB 493 – HB 376 – Background Information (1/22/2013)
New law will enhance efforts to combat fraud (7/29/2012)
Window closing to sign up for UH data breach services (4/17/2012)
Data breach victims win settlement UH will provide services to protect those affected by breaks in security (1/27/2012)
UH settles class action lawsuit on breaches of personal data (1/26/2012)
Prudential case could discourage whistle-blowers (7/1/2011)
UH sued over data breach – A graduate whose information was stolen seeks compensation (11/19/2010)
UH sued for privacy breaches (11/19/2010)
Judge: DHHL Failed to Meet Trust Obligations to Native Hawaiians (8/12/2010)
Judge rules state breached home lands trust (8/12/2010)
Ka Loko settlement is reached (10/30/2009)
800 Hawaii Residents Sue Life Insurer Conseco (11/5/2009)
Verdict in Honsador Sale Lawsuit (7/24/2007)
Pet Owners Sue Maker of Toxic Food (5/12/2007)