Amano rejects builder’s
bid to have judge ousted

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HILO >> Hilo Judge Riki May Amano has rejected an attempt by land developer Oceanside 1250 Partners to have Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra removed from a lengthy case involving the upscale Hokulia development.

Oceanside lawyers argued that Ibarra showed an appearance of bias against them during the three years since 2000 in which the Hokulia case has been before Ibarra.

Kayaker Walter "Jack" Kelly, other individuals and the Protect Keopuka Ohana sued Oceanside over a large runoff of dirty water from the property into the ocean, alleged mishandling of Hawaiian burials, alleged mistreatment of a Hawaiian trail and other allegations.

Ibarra ruled in favor of Kelly and the Ohana on most issues.

Attorney Kenneth Kupchak, representing the Coupe family which disputes county condemnation of some of its property in connection with Hokulia, described some of Oceanside's complaints against Ibarra as farfetched.

Hokulia claimed that Ibarra has a conflict because his wife is a part-time counter agent for Aloha Airlines "or one of its subsidiaries" while Aloha has a contractual agreement with Japan Airlines, a major investor in Hokulia, he said.

Attorney Robert Kim, representing Kelly, called Oceanside's claims "baloney."

Because Oceanside has lost in many of Ibarra's rulings and the case is almost over, Oceanside is trying to "intimidate the judge or attack the judge because they see the way the case is going," Kim said.

"It's a tactic, your honor, clear and simple. It's an act of desperation in the final end of the case," he said.

Amano called Oceanside's reasoning "curious." She ruled that Ibarra had no monetary interest in the case through his wife, that comments Ibarra made about the case were taken out of context by Oceanside, and that Ibarra showed "significant restraint" in the case.

"I understand why the opposing parties believe this is a trick to control the outcome (of the case)," she said.

Her ruling against Oceanside was one of Amano's final ones because yesterday was her last day on the job. She retired after learning that the Judicial Selection Commission did not intend to retain her.

Oceanside attorney Jack Dwyer included in his criticism of Ibarra statements that Ibarra delayed cases and showed a lack of "judicial temperament," meaning he became impatient with attorneys at times.

Dwyer said those same criticisms were leveled at Amano, leading to her not being retained as a judge. It was inappropriate for Amano to decide the same questions about Ibarra, he said.

Dwyer then apologized for bringing the matter up. Amano responded, "Your apology is not accepted. None is necessary."