JUAN ANGEL RUBALCABA v. PORTER McGUIRE KIAKONA LLP LLP LLP EKIMOTO MORRIS LLLC (2024)

SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER

This court agreed to answer a reserved question from the Circuit Court of the First Circuit. The circuit court asked:

In a wrongful foreclosure case brought by a homeowner against a homeowners’ association, should the mortgage debt of the homeowner to a third-party lender(s) that was discharged by the third-party lender's subsequent foreclosure be considered in determining/calculating the Plaintiff's damages?

We accepted the reserved question, advising that we intended to answer it through Wong v. Ass'n of Apartment Owners of Harbor Square, SCAP-22-0000552, a case then pending before us.

We decided Wong on February 29, 2024 and entered final judgment on April 2, 2024. 154 Hawai‘i 58, 545 P.3d 547 (2024). Our decision describes how a plaintiff may calculate damages in a lawsuit against a condominium association for wrongful foreclosure.

Accordingly, we remand the case to the circuit court for further proceedings consistent with Wong.

Mark E. Recktenwald

Sabrina S. McKenna

Todd W. Eddins

Catherine H. Remigio

Ronald G. Johnson