David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon
(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)
U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii
Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang
—
DEFENDANT’S WITNESS
DIANE HASTERT
Listed in The Best Lawyers in America since 2001, Diane’s practice focuses on complex litigation and dispute resolution. Prior to joining the firm in 1978, she was an extern to the Honorable Herbert Choy, Circuit Judge, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Diane is also involved in a number of professional and civic community activities, servicing on the Disciplinary Board of the Hawaii Supreme Court, as Board Chair of the Easter Seals Foundation, and as a director of Aloha United Way, among others.
An avid golfer, Diane is married to Mark H. Hastert. Their daughters, Shanna Kathleen Williams and Hallet Anne Smith, live in Mission Viejo, California and Alexandria, Virginia, respectively.
Professional & Community Affiliations
> Adjunct Professor, William S. Richardson School of Law (Appellate Advocacy,
1989)
> Advisory Committee to the American Institute of ArchitectsArchitects-Design-Products /RUDAT (1974-75)
> Aloha United Way (Director 2005-present)
> Citizens' Advisory Commission to the Capitol District (1973-74)
> Disciplinary Board of the Hawaii Supreme Court (Member 2002-present)
> Disciplinary Board Hearing Officer (1990-2002)
> Federal Magistrate Merit Selection Panel (1987; 1999)
> Friends of the William S. Richardson School of Law (Director 2004-present)
> Hawaii State Bar Association (Secretary 1987; Director 1985-89)
> Hawaii Supreme Court Committee on Code of Judicial Conduct (1991-93)
> Hawaii Supreme Court Committee on Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1989-94)
> Hawaii Supreme Court Committee on Professionalism (1989)
> Hawaii Theatre Center (Director 1989-1994)
> Hawaii Women Lawyers
> Hawaiian Humane Society (Director 1995-2002)
> William S. Richardson School of Law Alumni Association (Director 2004-present)
http://www.hawaiilawyer.com/atty/ddh/ddh.htm
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Joshua Gotbaum, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, and others:
April 21, 2004
Wulff Chosen to Head 9/11 Panel
on WTC Loss
Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER, The Oakland Tribune
An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.
Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.
The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.
After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.
Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.
He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.
His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.
Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
http://www.wqsadr.com/articles.html
REFERENCES
A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....
Hawaii
Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031
Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700
Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855
David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644
Elton John Bain
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
19th Floor, Central Pacific Plaza
229 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113
Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744
Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800
Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300
Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490
James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212
James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999
http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (05-04-08): Undisclosed conflicts of interest between Randall Wulff, Larry Silverstein, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Joshua Gotbaum, David C. Farmer, Steven Guttman, Roy Hughes, Colbert Matsumoto, James Watanabe, J. Douglas Ing, Diane Hastert, Bert Kobayashi, Warren Price III, James Duca, Chubb Group, Marsh & McLennan, AIG, and others:
April 21, 2004
Wulff Chosen to Head 9/11 Panel
on WTC Loss
Attorney was picked by judge in New York to help
on panel determining value of damages
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER, The Oakland Tribune
An East Bay attorney and mediator will play a pivotal role in determining the amount of loss resulting from the World Trade Center's destruction at the hands of terrorists Sept. 11, 2001.
Randall W. Wulff of Piedmont was selected Tuesday by U.S. District Chief Judge Michael B. Mukasey of New York to be chief umpire on a three-person appraisal panel that will address reconstruction costs as well as rental value and business interruption damages. Hearings are expected to begin later this year.
The battle over the monetary costs of the World Trade Center's destruction, and who will be paid how much for those costs, has become almost as twisted as the wreckage of the towers. And the battle has turned somewhat political, with New York officials touting the rebuilding of Ground Zero as crucial to the region's economic recovery.
World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein claims his insurers owe him almost twice their policy limits -- as much as $6.8 billion -- based on a switch in insurance forms that he believes recognizes the two impacts by two hijacked jet airliners as two separate losses. His claim went to a six-man, six-woman federal jury Monday after a 10-week trial.
After the jury -- and those in future proceedings involving other members of Silverstein's jury pool -- has determined the extent of the insurers' liability, it'll be up to Wolff's panel to determine what the actual losses are.
Wulff was with San Francisco's Farella, Braun and Martel from 1974 -- first as a trial lawyer, and from 1994 on as a "neutral" mediator -- until 2000, when he cofounded Oakland's Wulff Quinby Sochynsky, which exclusively provides mediation, arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution services.
He has helped settle almost 2,000 cases in the past 15 years, including the recent $1.1 billion settlement of the California class action against Microsoft. He also has helped resolve monetary disputes related to renovation of the Oakland Arena and construction of other high-profile projects from ballparks to Las Vegas casinos. And he has authored, edited or co-edited books on alternative dispute resolution.
His firm's Web site says his daily fee is $9,500 for cases in the Bay Area or Sacramento, $11,000 for cases elsewhere.
Wulff holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, attended the Netherlands Institute of International Business and holds a law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco.
http://www.wqsadr.com/articles.html
REFERENCES
A sample of names follows here. A lengthier list of specific references from counsel and parties in cases where Mr. Wulff has acted as mediator is also available upon request....
Hawaii
Diane D. Hastert, Esq.
Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert
1600 Pauahi Tower, 1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-8031
Bert T. Kobayashi, Esq.
Kobayashi, Sugita & Goda
First Hawaiian Center, Suite 2600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-529-8700
Andrew Winer, Esq.
Winer Heheula & Devens
Pali Palms Plaza
970 North Kalaheo Ave, Suite A-300
Kailua, HI 96734
Telephone: 808-254-5855
David Schulmeister, Esq.
Cades Schutte Fleming & Wright
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1000
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Hoshibata, Esq.
Crabtree & Hoshibata
2300 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-524-5644
Elton John Bain
Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga
19th Floor, Central Pacific Plaza
229 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Warren Price III, Esq.
Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum
Ocean View Center
707 Richards Street, Suite 728
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-538-1113
Roy F. Hughes
Hughes & Taosaka
900 Pauahi Tower
1001 Bishop Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-526-9744
Brad S. Petrus
Tom Teetrus & Miller
The Arcade Building
212 Merchant Street, Suite 200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-522-0800
Milton M. Yasunaga
Cades Schutte Law Firm
1000 Bishop Street, Suite 1200
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-521-9200
John T. Komeiji
Watanabe Ing & Komeiji
999 Bishop Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-544-8300
Roger Moseley
Moseley Biehl Tsugawa Lau & Muzzi
1100 Alakea Street, 23rd Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-531-0490
James T. Paul, Esq.
Paul Johnson Park & Niles
Pacific Tower, 1001 Bishop St., Suite 1300
P.O.Box 4438
Honolulu, HI 96812
Telephone: 808-524-1212
James Lawhn
Oliver, Lau, Lawhn, Ogawa & Nakamura
707 Richards Street, Suite 600
Honolulu, HI 96813
Telephone: 808-533-3999
http://www.wqsadr.com/randallwwulff.html
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERY (03-19-08):
March 19, 2008
RightStar auction fails to draw
a qualified bid
By Jim Dooley, Honolulu Advertiser
A sales auction of the debt-ridden RightStar group of cemetery and funeral home companies did not produce a single qualified bid, but the companies' financial health is improving and they will be re-auctioned, a state judge was told yesterday.
All 50,000 customers holding funeral and/or burial service contracts with the companies will have their contracts honored, various attorneys involved in the RightStar foreclosure case told Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna in a briefing on the status of the case.
RightStar, a start-up company incorporated in Nevada, purchased Valley of the Temples Memorial Park on O'ahu, Homelani and Kona Memorial Parks on the Big Island and Maui Memorial Park in 2001.
The previous owner was in bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware.
RightStar also purchased numerous Hawai'i pre-need funeral plan providers, including 50th State Funeral Plan.
Las Vegas-based Vestin Mortgage, RightStar's principal lender, filed a mortgage foreclosure suit here in 2004, alleging it was owed more than $36 million. McKenna appointed Guido Giacometti as receiver to run the companies while the foreclosure suit is pending.
Giacometti's attorney, Diane Hastert, yesterday balked at briefing McKenna in open court about the results of the RightStar auction and asked to submit the information to the judge under seal.
McKenna, however, ordered some information to be placed on the record, saying, "I do consider this a public matter and the public needs to be informed about what's going on."
Hastert then told the judge that two "non-conforming bids" from qualified buyers were received by the Feb. 29 auction deadline.
It's believed that the bids were less than the $25 million minimum price set last year by the state attorney general's office and Vestin.
Deputy Attorney General C. Bryan Fitzgerald told McKenna that a third bid was also received but it was "unacceptable."
He indicated that the third bidder offered more money but could not have received a state license to operate a funeral home or cemetery.
"The amount was correct but the bidder was not license-able," Fitzgerald said.
A new sales auction may be scheduled or sales conditions may be amended, McKenna was told.
Fitzgerald said that Giacometti has "dramatically improved" the financial condition of RightStar.
"I'm not discouraged," McKenna told various attorneys involved in the long-running case.
She said she was pleased to hear that an "interim business management team" is being brought in to "improve the market value" of the companies.
The state is pursuing other litigation against the former owners of RightStar, alleging that they fraudulently removed some $20 million the company held in trust for the benefit of RightStar customers.
That suit alleges that four trustees responsible for protecting the funds, including former Gov. John Waihee, should have stopped the improper removal of funds.
The former RightStar owners and former trustees have denied wrongdoing.
Former RightStar executive John Dooley was indicted on a theft charge in December 2006, but authorities have been unable to locate him.
Reach Jim Dooley at jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
~ ~ ~
NEW DISCOVERIES (02-04-08): Re: FURTHER EVIDENCE OF UNDISCLOSED, CONFLICTING PROFESSIONAL AND FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TRUSTEE DAVID C. FARMER AND WITNESSES, FORMER GOVERNOR JOHN WAIHEE, GERARD JERVIS, NATHAN AIPA, AND BRUCE GRAHAM, ESQ, OF THE LAW FIRM OF ASHFORD & WRISTON:
http://www.kycbs.net/EQ2048-Adler-Aipa-3-15-95.pdf
http://www.kycbs.net/EQ-Adler-Cartwright-4-14-95.pdf
http://starbulletin.com/2007/08/09/editorial/special.html
http://www.actec.org/private/freeform/page.asp?PageID=614
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July 3, 2005
Cemetery operator faces criminal probe
'Wall' keeps criminal, civil probes separate
By Jim Dooley, Advertiser Staff Writer
The state Attorney General's office is conducting a criminal investigation of the purchase and operation of the RightStar group of funeral and cemetery companies in Hawai'i, according to state officials and private attorneys familiar with the investigation.
The criminal probe is separate from a civil lawsuit filed last year by the Attorney General's office that accuses RightStar officials and four local lawyers, including former Gov. John Waihee, of mismanaging more than $20 million in RightStar funds held in trust for thousands of Hawai'i customers who purchased "pre-need" funeral services and cemetery plots.
RightStar owns and operates four cemeteries: Valley of the Temples on O'ahu, Maui Memorial Park on the Valley Isle, and Homelani and Kona Memorial Parks on the Big Island.
The company purchased the cemeteries and related mortuary and funeral plan trust assets in 2001, and the state licensed RightStar to operate them in November 2001.
William McCorriston, attorney for Waihee and the other three lawyers who acted as trustees of the RightStar customers' trust funds, said he does not believe his clients are targets of the criminal investigation.
"We have informed the Attorney General of irregularities and delinquencies which had concerned us," McCorriston said. "We believe our information was the genesis of their investigation."
Waihee could not be reached for comment.
Attorneys for RightStar officials and Vestin Mortgage Inc., a Las Vegas-based lender that financed RightStar's purchase of the companies and filed a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit against RightStar for failure to repay $34 million in loans, said their clients have done nothing wrong. They said company officials are cooperating in the criminal and civil probes conducted by the Attorney General.
State Attorney General Mark Bennett and Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Goya confirmed the criminal investigation but would not elaborate on details of the case.
Legal quagmire
RightStar's financial problems have spawned a welter of lawsuits in state and federal court here, and involved the companies and its officials in at least one other ongoing criminal investigation, according to court records.
Most of the civil cases center on how the companies and trustees managed trust-fund assets.
The trust funds contain money from cemetery plot and funeral plan buyers that is supposed to be held in trust for the customers until they die. The funds also contain money set aside for "perpetual care" of the cemeteries.
According to state figures, the value of the trust funds stood at $63.2 million when RightStar took control of them. A year later, the value dropped to $40 million.
The foreclosure lawsuit filed by Vestin Mortgage claims that RightStar defaulted on loans that were used to purchase the companies. A state judge handling that case has appointed an independent receiver, Guido Giacometti, to run the cemeteries and funeral businesses and protect the rights of customers while the competing claims from numerous parties are sorted out.
In his two most recent monthly reports filed with the court, Giacometti said the companies have a "critical need" for additional money and are attempting to develop new cemetery plots and sell new funeral plans to increase cash flow.
"We're doing OK — sales volumes are relatively consistent," Giacometti said. "We'd like them to be higher but we inherited a company that had not reinvested in itself. There are a limited number of cemetery plots available, so we're working toward development of future areas."
Consumers caught
Local resident John Quinores bought four burial plots for himself and his family at Valley of the Temples in the 1960s and said he's worried about his investment. After agreeing to buy the cemetery plots, Quinores later supplemented that purchase with "pre-need" plans designed to provide funeral services when he dies.
"I'm still paying," Quinores said. "I called the company a couple of months ago with some questions but the lady that answered was vague and defensive."
Giacometti said he has made customer service a top priority and also is dealing with a variety of other pressing issues, including satisfying a dozen consumer complaints filed with the state Regulated Industries Complaints Office. Also unresolved are numerous other complaints about RightStar's decision last year to sell burial plots and funeral services contracts at a discount to a company called Alternative Debt Portfolios.
That sale was an effort by previous RightStar management to raise funds, Giacometti said.
"About 2,100 cemetery plot contracts were sold, but some of the contracts had already been paid in full and should not have been included in the deal," Giacometti said. "There are also some questions about who is responsible for the funeral services that are included in some of the other contracts."
Giacometti said he's cooperating in state and federal tax investigations of RightStar as well as a separate FBI investigation of Funding Solutions Inc., a company in Stamford, Conn., to which RightStar turned for financial assistance in 2004.
RightStar "made a $250,000 payment to them in return for a loan commitment, but then never got the loan," Giacometti said.
When Giacometti asked the company for a refund, "we ran right into an FBI investigation," he said. "They are investigating Funding Solutions and principals of the company and we are cooperating in that investigation."
According to federal court records, Funding Solutions executives Leonard Kalish and Joel Pondelik were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's office in New York City in January.
A call to the company for comment was returned by Kalish's New York attorney, Martin Adelman, who said only that Kalish "will answer any and all official inquiries (about RightStar) when they are made."
A right to foreclose
Hawai'i Circuit Judge Sabrina McKenna ruled last month and again Friday that Vestin had the right to foreclose on RightStar, with the companies to be sold "to a licensed and qualified buyer" who would protect "the interests of consumers."
Attorney Grant Kidani, attorney for Alternative Debt Portfolios, had asked McKenna to delay foreclosure proceedings for 120 days, arguing that documents filed in another RightStar-related lawsuit, now pending in federal court here, showed both Vestin and RightStar had "unclean hands." Their relationship should be examined more closely before foreclosure takes place, he said.
The other federal court suit, first filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware and now pending before Hawai'i Federal Judge Helen Gillmor, alleges that Waihee and three other local attorneys who acted as RightStar funeral plan trustees were part of a fraudulent conspiracy to "strip the assets" of RightStar.
The suit was filed against RightStar by Alderwoods (Hawai'i) Inc., which purchased the assets of the cemetery and mortuary business in a Delaware bankruptcy court sale and then resold it to RightStar in 2001.
Charges in the suit are based in part on allegations from David Jackson, a former financial controller of RightStar Hawaii Management, who charged that Waihee used his "political influence" to smooth the company's dealings with state regulators.
McCorriston, Waihee's attorney, said Jackson's allegations "are part of an effort to besmirch Waihee's and the other trustees' reputations. RightStar has gone belly-up, so instead they're pointing their guns at the trustees."
Candace Ito, executive officer of the state Cemetery and Funeral Trusts Program, also denied Jackson's allegations, saying that "RightStar did not receive any special treatment" from the state.
RightStar President John Dooley said Waihee "did nothing improper while representing the company in the licensing process. He used his abilities to assist a private business attain licensing in the state of Hawai'i in much the same way that other former governors have assisted businesses in the past."
RightStar attorney James Wagner added, "Jackson is a disgruntled former employee who was fired for incompetence."
Attempts to reach attorneys for Jackson and Alderwoods were unsuccessful.
Transfers questioned
The state has charged in its civil suit against RightStar that the company and the former trustees improperly removed about $20 million in trust fund assets in 2002, transferring the money to RightStar's operational accounts. The state said the transfers should only have been made after a full accounting of the finances of the cemeteries and trust funds had been completed and filed with the state. Such financial statements have yet to be filed by RightStar, according to court records.
The Attorney General's suit also charged that the trustees removed another $20 million in trust fund assets and improperly invested the money in a Nevada real estate venture called Vestin Fund II. That fund is managed by Vestin Mortgage, the same company that financed RightStar's purchase of the cemeteries and trust funds in the first place.
An independent expert, John Candon, has been appointed by the court in the Attorney General's civil lawsuit to examine the finances and activities of RightStar and the trust funds and to make sure the money is properly accounted for and protected.
Last year, the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission revealed that it was investigating Vestin Fund II. Vestin called the SEC probe an "informal inquiry" that appears to focus on its financial reporting to the SEC.
Vestin attorney Paul Alston said the investment has yielded a return of 9 percent interest per year and is probably one of the best investments the trustees made."
And Alston said at least some of the blame for RightStar's problems belongs with the state. "It appears that the trusts were mishandled under the state's proverbial nose, and it is only because of Vestin's complaints ... that the state has stirred to action," Alston said in a letter to Judge McKenna.
In late May, state Deputy Attorney General James Paige said in a letter to Judge McKenna that the state had attempted unsuccessfully to recover $20 million in RightStar trust money from Vestin Fund II.
Under the terms of the investment, Paige said, the fund can give back no more than 10 percent of an investment per year. At that rate, the consumer trust funds that the state wants back will not be fully recovered "until approximately the year 2015," Paige wrote.
Class-action suit filed
Last week, a class-action lawsuit was added to the legal woes besetting RightStar. One plaintiff in the suit, Yahnina Hackney, repeated claims reported earlier by The Advertiser that RightStar improperly canceled her stepmother's funeral services contract after the elderly woman became sick and failed to make monthly payments to the company.
The company said in response that the cancellation was made by previous owners of the company and some of the disputed funds are still being held in trust.
Hackney said when her stepmother died, there was no money to pay for her burial. "I had to ask the state to do it," she said. "It was very sad. She was cremated. She didn't want that. I have her ashes at home."
She said she "would like to see everybody wake up and take a look at this issue. It's very important and it's something we all will have to face."
Reach Jim Dooley at 535-2447 or jdooley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
For more, GO TO > > > Vampires in the Cemetery
~ ~ ~
Diane Hastert is expected to testify regarding her business, professional and personal relationships with Mark Hastert, David C. Farmer; The Queen’s Health Systems; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Colleen Wong, Lyn Anzai, Earl Anzai, Nathan Aipa, Donna Tanoue; Bank of Hawaii; Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert; Kenneth Kupchak; Paul Alston; Kenneth Brown; Jeff Watanabe; Marsh & McLennan; Mercer Human Resource Consulting; Chubb Group; Dee Jay Mailer; Kirk Belsby; Neil Hannahs; Peter Savio; Warren Luke, Loyalty Development Co.; Henry Peters; Richard Wong; Guido Giacometti; John Garibaldi; Colbert Matsumoto; Allan A. Smith; Maui County Council; Maui County Planning Commission; The Land Use Research Foundation; Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA); Clayton Hee; Haunani Apoliona; Ben Cayetano; John Waihee; George Ariyoshi; John Burns; Linda Lingle; Judith Neustadter Fuqua; James “Kimo” Apana; The Nature Conservancy; James J.C. Haynes; University of Hawaii; Jeff Stone, Ko Olina Partners; Bill Mills; Everett Dowling; Stanford Carr; Alexander & Baldwin; The Harris Company; John D. Marshall, Nagle & Marshall, LLP; Ashford & Wriston; Randall Wulff, Joshua Gotbaum, Roy Hughes, and others to be named upon discovery.
Internet References:
http://www.hawaiilawyer.com/atty/ddh/ddh.htm
www.punawelewele.com/halepai/iulai/multicent.htm
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Jan/07/localnews4.html
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/2000/Mar/14/localnews6.html
www.hawaiibusiness.com/1105/1105_top20_imua.aspx
www.hhf.com/profile/bios/hastert.htm
http://starbulletin.com/2003/08/14/news/story13.html
http://starbulletin.com/2003/10/11/business/story1.html
www.hawaii-forest.org/reports/dryland.html
www.imercer.com/us/Surveys/PartList.asp?SurveyID=2097
www.kycbs.net/BuzzardsOfParadise.htm
www.kycbs.net/NatureConservancy.htm
www.kycbs.net/QueenEmmaFoundation.htm
TO GO TO THE WOO VS. HARMON WITNESS INDEX