Hawaii Supreme Court
Alexander & Baldwin , LLC v. Armitage.
April 5, 2022151 Haw. 37
Summary
The court held that an unincorporated entity may appear in court only through licensed counsel and that the circuit court should not have permitted non-attorneys to represent the Reinstated Hawaiian Nation. Rejecting an automatic-nullity rule, the court adopted a case-specific approach and vacated the judgments against the entity because the unauthorized representation was unwitting, pervasive, and prejudicial to the entity and the judicial process. The court affirmed the judgment against Armitage individually because he received notice and a meaningful opportunity to defend himself, and remanded for further proceedings.
Holding
- Authority of non-attorneys to represent an unincorporated entity. An unincorporated entity with multiple constituents may appear in court only through a licensed attorney. The circuit court should have acted sua sponte to prevent Armitage and Noa from representing the Reinstated Hawaiian Nation and should have allowed the entity a reasonable opportunity to obtain counsel before imposing an appropriate procedural consequence.
- Effect of unauthorized representation on the entity's judgment. Unauthorized representation does not automatically render every resulting judgment a nullity. Courts must assess the circumstances case by case, considering whether the conduct was knowing, whether the entity acted diligently to obtain counsel, whether the representation was minimal, and whether the opposing party was prejudiced. Here, those considerations and the policies underlying the prohibition required vacatur of the judgment against the Reinstated Hawaiian Nation.
- Armitage's individual procedural due process rights. Armitage's individual due process rights were not violated, and the judgment against him did not have to be vacated merely because the judgment against the Reinstated Hawaiian Nation was vacated. He received notice and a full opportunity to participate, including cross-examination, presentation of evidence, examination of witnesses, and oral and written argument.
Docket SCWC-16-0000667
Cited authorities
- U.S. Const. amend. XIV