Woo vs. Harmon - Witness Benjamin Kudo

David C. Farmer, Successor-Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo vs. Harmon & Nicholson vs. Harmon)

CV05-00030 DAE KSC

U.S. District Court For the District of Hawaii

Judges: David A. Ezra; Kevin S. Chang

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

BENJAMIN A. KUDO

Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto, LLLC
TOPA Financial Center, Fort Street Tower
745 Fort Street, 17^th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813

Email: bkudo@imanakakkudo.com

Benjamin A. Kudo is a founding principal of the law firm of Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto, and leads the Land Use, Administrative and Environmental Law section of the firm – which handles major resort, commercial, industrial and residential developments throughout the State and also heads up the Pacific-Asia business practice for the law firm representing international clients in the United States.

In addition to his law practice, Mr. Kudo was an Adjunct Professor of Law at The William S. Richardson School of Law teaching in the area of real property, land use and water law from 1990 to 2000. In 1994, Mr. Kudo was honored by the establishment of the Benjamin A. Kudo, Chair of Law (designed in the areas of land use, environmental and administrative law) at The William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii. Mr. Kudo received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, a M.B.A. from the University of Hawaii, his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and his Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in International Management.

http://imanakakudo.com/team-21.html

Representative Clients of this Law Firm include: Castle & Cooke Properties, Inc; City Bank; Gannet Corporation; Hawaii Public Television; Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.; Hilton Grand Vacations Company; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; Lehman Bros.; Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc.; Nikken Corporation; Novartis; Princeville Corp.; Royal State Corp.; State Farm Insurance Companies; Faye Kurren, Tesoro Hawaii Corporation.

Member: American Arbitration Association, Commercial Panel of Neutral Arbitrators

Lobbyist Activity: http://hawaii.gov/ethics/lobby/reglob/lljan08.pdf

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BENJAMIN KUDO PHOTO GALLERY

http://www.midweek.com/content/paina/image_full/11652/

imanakakudo.com/team-21.html

www.hawaii.edu/.../david-l-callies/index.html

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NEW DISCOVERY (11-30-08):

THE BEST GOVERNMENT MONEY CAN BUY

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NEW DISCOVERY (08-12-08):

May 7, 2007

By not acting, lawmakers
let raises take effect

The amounts are set by a little-noticed panel
under a 2006 state amendment

By Richard Borreca, Star-Bulletin

Pay for the governor, state executives, judges and legislators will all increase, thanks to a little-noticed salary commission appointed last year.

By taking no action to stop the raises, the state Legislature gave tacit approval this year to the commission's recommendations.

The increases vary by position. For instance, by 2012, pay for the Supreme Court chief justice will rise to $213,840 from $144,900, while the governor's pay will rise to $143,748 from $112,000.

The Legislature cannot accept raises until after the next election, according to the state Constitution, but after 2009 the legislative salary will rise to $57,852 from the current $37,500 by 2014.

The report stated that "there were long periods during which other state employees received pay increases while elected and appointed officials and justices and judges did not receive pay increases."

Under the plan, all state executives, including the governor and lieutenant governor, chief of staff, department heads and deputies, will get a 5 percent raise on July 1.

Judges will get a 10 percent raise and then raises of either 3.5 percent or 10 percent every year through 2012.

By 2012, circuit judges will see their pay go to $185,736 from the current $125,856, and district judges' pay will rise to $175,032 from $118,611.

The commission was created by a state constitutional amendment approved by voters last year that called for the governor, Senate president, House speaker and chief justice to name members.

The commission chairman was Ben Kudo, while Paul Oshiro was vice chairman. The members were Barbara Annis, Doris Ching, Michael Irish, Stan Shiraki and Wayne Yamasaki.

The commission filed a report in March with the Legislature, which did not hold hearings or publicize the report. Under the constitutional amendment, the salary increases went into effect when the Legislature adjourned last week.

"The only way they can be stopped is if they are voted down, and the only way they can be voted down is if they are brought up. And these were not brought up," said Sen. Sam Slom, a critic of past salary commission reports.

This report surprised Slom (R, Hawaii Kai-Diamond Head), who said he had thought it was not yet completed.

"The public is being hoodwinked," he said. "They don't get tax relief, and they get a higher bill for this."

The price tag for the raises will be $20.5 million by 2014, according to the commission's report.

House Speaker Calvin Say said the legislative increases are needed because many office holders have no other job. "I am happy the Legislature is getting an increase," he said.

Legislators have difficulty finding an employer that allows them to leave work for the four-month legislative session, Say said. "This is why those who depend on their legislative salary, they are struggling. The Legislature is a full-time obligation."

Commission Chairman Kudo said the report was subject to a legislative veto, but because no action was taken, the raises go into effect automatically.

He said all the commission meetings were open, but they relied on the state administration to send out notifications. "We didn't issue a press release," Kudo said.

The commission held eight meetings starting Dec. 28. The final report was completed March 14, and then the Legislature was briefed.

Kudo said he did not hear any objections from lawmakers.

The pay raises are needed, he said, because each branch of government is paid less than counterparts in other states.

"What we honestly found is that the pay scales were very much under what we would have expected," Kudo said.

Hawaii pay for judges, Kudo said, still ranks as 49th among the 50 states.

www.starbulletin.com/2007/05/07/news/story02.html

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Googling for Benjamin Kudo

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Benjamin Kudo is expected to testify regarding his business, professional and personal relationships with Robert Clarke; Edwina Clarke; Hawaiian Electric Industries*; Franklin Tokioka; Colbert Matsumoto*; David Black, Honolulu Star-Bulletin; Wayne Hikida; Island Insurance Company; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate**; Nathan Aipa**; Henry Peters**; Namlyn Snow**; Milton Holt**; Marshall Ige**; Robert Herkes**; Joe Souki**; Calvin Say; Sam Hata**; Brian Tsujimura; Alexander & Baldwin; Mario Ramil; Tesoro Hawaii; Judge Kevin Chang; Judge Ronald Moon, Judge David Ezra; Judge Robert Faris; Judge Rey Graulty; Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo (fka Bambi Weil); Judge James Duffy; Judge Barry Kurren; Faye Kurren; The Nature Conservancy; Gary Rodrigues; Steven Guttman; Hawaii Land Use Commission; Maui County Council; Judith Neustadter Fuqua, Cargill, Dow Chemical, Dole Foods, Constance Lau, Earl Anzai, Lyn Anzai, Margery Bronster, Kenneth Hipp, James Nicholson, David Farmer, and others to be named upon discovery.