HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii attorney general’s office must pay attorney fees for using last year’s Maui wildfire tragedy to file a petition in “bad faith” that blamed a state court judge for a lack of water for firefighting, Hawaii’s Supreme Court ruled. It seems the state “tried to leverage the most horrific event in state history to advance its interests,” the ruling issued Thursday said. The day after the historic town of Lahaina burned in a deadly August fire, the state attorney general’s office, representing the Board of Land and Natural Resources, filed a petition alleging east Maui stream flow protections established by Judge Jeffrey Crabtree caused the water shortage. “Naturally we paid attention,” said the unanimous opinion authored by Justice Todd Eddins. “The Department of the Attorney General initiated an original proceeding during an unthinkable human event. The petition advanced an idea that legal events impacted the nation’s most devastating wildfire.” |
A political prisoner in Belarus smuggles out account of beatings after writing on toilet paperRobert F. Kennedy Jr. convenes hundreds in Iowa to try for access to November ballotHilarious moment Moto3 rider accidentally jumps onto a rival's bike midLightning, rains kill 49 in Pakistan as authorities declare a state of emergency in the southwestIsrael’s chief says it will respond to Iran’s missile strikeWorld awaits Chinese tourists' returnLine Of Duty's Vicky McClure reunites with coRobert F. Kennedy Jr. convenes hundreds in Iowa to try for access to November ballotAmanda Holden puts on a VERY leggy display in a grey miniRHOM star Alexia Nepola's husband Todd files for DIVORCE after two years