James Nicholson vs. Harmon - Witness Judge Mario Ramil

James B. Nicholson, Trustee vs. Harmon

(Formerly Woo 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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HEARING ON MOTIONS FOR ABATEMENT, DAMAGES, ETC.

DATE: Non Hearing, per Theresa Lam, 2-12-7

JUDGE: David A. Ezra, per Theresa Lam, 2-12-7

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DEFENDANT’S WITNESS

JUDGE MARIO RAMIL

Mario R. Ramil (born June 21, 1946) was an Associate Justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court and was the second Filipino American in the United States to rise to the office. He served his tenure from 1993 to 2002. Born and raised in the Philippines, Ramil's family immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area when he was young. He received his bachelor's degree in 1972 from California State University, Hayward and his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1975 from University of California Hastings College of the Law. He moved to Hawai'i in 1975 upon graduation from Hastings and joined the Attorney General's office, becoming Deputy Attorney General a year later. He became the state's insurance commissioner in the 1980s and in 1993 was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. In 2002, he retired from his post, after two decades in public service, and entered private practice. Ramil is married with two children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_R._Ramil

The Honorable Mario R. Ramil, retired Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, is Of Counsel to Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto, with a practice emphasizing arbitration/mediation, administrative law, and governmental affairs....

Justice Ramil has written opinions in all areas of the law, most notably in the areas of employment discrimination, insurance, and labor law. During the most turbulent years for the insurance industry, in the mid 1980s, he served as Hawaii's Insurance Commissioner. During his tenure, Insurance Commissioner Ramil significantly reduced workers' compensation, homeowners, and general liability insurance premiums, maintained the availability of insurance coverage for Hawaii businesses by establishing the Market Assistance Program (MAP), and presided over the liquidation of a domestic insurance carrier UIIA. Additionally, by actively working with the Hawaii State Legislature, he recodified the Insurance Code in 1986 and was also a member of the Governor's task force for tort reform that drafted the 1986 Tort Insurance Reform law.

http://www.imanakakudo.com/bio.php?article_id=56

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July 21, 2001

Media barred from
estate proceedings

The Star-Bulletin and KITV
appealed to the state high court
but lost over a technicality

By Rick Daysog, rdaysog@starbulletin.com

A state judge does not have to open the Estate of James Campbell legal proceedings to the public, the Hawaii Supreme Court has ruled.

The justices yesterday denied a petition for a writ of mandamus by KITV-4 and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin to overturn Probate Judge Colleen Hirai's recent decision to hold close-door hearings in the Campbell Estate case.

The Supreme Court's ruling came on the same day that Hirai held a secret hearing to approve a sealed settlement between the $2 billion trust and its former law firm, Ashford & Wriston.

Evan Shirley, attorney for KITV and the Star-Bulletin, said he was disappointed with the high court's decision and said he filed a notice of appeal yesterday with the Supreme Court.

"The Hawaii Supreme Court has been very supportive of the First Amendment and fundamental freedoms," Shirley said. "They got it wrong this time."

In a written order, the five justices -- Chief Justice Ronald Moon and Associate Justices Mario Ramil, Paula Nakayama, Steven Levinson and Simeon Acoba -- rejected the KITV and Star-Bulletin request for a writ largely on procedural grounds.

The news organizations should have sought an appeal of Hirai's order and not a writ, the justices said.

Unlike an appeal, which can take years to decide, a writ asks the Supreme Court to change or modify a lower court ruling due to a clear error or irreparable harm.

The high court decision was issued about the time that Hirai approved the secret settlement between the Campbell Estate and Ashford & Wriston yesterday morning.

The estate sued its former law firm in 1999 for legal malpractice, saying the firm mishandled a multimillion-dollar leasehold arbitration case.

Under the settlement, the two sides agreed to dismiss the lawsuit and set aside a sealed ruling made last year by former Probate Judge Kevin Chang.

Chang ruled in favor of Ashford & Wriston, saying the Campbell Estate's trustees were in a position of conflict and should have sought court approval when they sued their attorneys.

http://starbulletin.com/2001/07/21/news/story4.html

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November 8, 2002

Lingle team shortchanged

The governor-elect says budget cuts
won't hold her team back

By Richard Borreca, Star-Bulletin

The state Legislature did not appropriate money to pay for 54 of the 60 positions in governor-elect Linda Lingle's office.

Lingle's transition team also found out yesterday that nearly all of the state deputy director positions are unfunded and that the state budget includes only half of the $100,000 in transition funds called for by state law.

"The cuts won't stop us," Lingle said.

She held a wide-ranging news conference yesterday to discuss her transition plans. She is thinking about a proposal to double-deck a portion of the H-1 freeway from Kapolei to downtown with two or three highway lanes that would be one-way into town in the morning and one-way to Kapolei in the afternoon.

Lingle said the Legislature cut the funds for the administration to balance the budget this year. The Legislature had also dropped most of the deputy director positions, but Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed the bill.

Randy Roth, University of Hawaii law school professor and past president of the Hawaii Bar Association, who is the senior adviser on Lingle's transition team, said he was told about the budget cuts yesterday in a meeting with Sam Callejo, Cayetano's executive assistant.

Cutting the positions and transition team funds saves about $1 million, according to budget figures. "I'm not sure if it is a financial or control issue. ... The public would see it as playing games," Lingle said.

She suggested that the money could be found to pay for the positions and that as long as the Legislature did not cut the positions, the matter could be resolved.

Lingle suggested that the new double-deck road could be financed by tolls. "We are just going to have to be more creative," Lingle said, adding that to do nothing would "doom" the second city of Kapolei.

She suggested that commuters might pay a dollar in the morning and a dollar in the afternoon to use the special "super contra-flow lane."

Lingle also announced that her campaign manager, Bob Awana, would be her chief of staff.

Lingle also said she had big plans for the University of Hawaii despite Evan Dobelle, the UH president, making commercials last week supporting Lingle's Democratic opponent, Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.

Lingle said that when Dobelle called to say he was going to publicly endorse Hirono, he said it was because of "very complicated reasons."

Lingle said she thought the reason was very simple and hung up. "I thought it was very inappropriate, and I think most of the state felt the same way," Lingle said. "It was not a pleasant conversation, and I hung up the phone on him, but that is over," she said.

She said her vision for UH includes the university having "an Asian-Pacific focus," and Dobelle feels the same.

Lingle added that Dobelle had asked her to join him at a UH volleyball game this weekend, but she had not decided if she would accept.

Dobelle is a former treasurer for the Democratic National Committee and finance chairman for Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign.

"I am not interested in reviewing the past or discussing my private conversations with the governor-elect. Partisanship is over," Dobelle said....

Lingle and Dobelle also disagree on the UH's West Oahu campus because while UH is planning for a large-scale construction project, Lingle wants UH to think about programs first. "I know President Dobelle and I have slightly different views on this," Lingle said. "More of our emphasis should be on the program and not the physical building."

She said that while she supports the autonomy for the university, "As governor, I want to be able to express myself and have my opinion taken into account."

For instance, Lingle said she considers the University of Hawaii at Hilo to be a major economic force on the Big Island, so she wants there to be "more focus on the Hilo campus."

She also supports the faculty union's proposal to have the selection of at least one member of the UH Board of Regents considered by the union.

She added that the UH faculty, which had endorsed her in the last two campaigns, is vital for the future of UH.

On the subject of judicial appointments, Lingle said there is a vacancy on the state Supreme Court because of the possible resignation of Associate Justice Mario Ramil. She said she will look for someone who interprets the law and does not try to "make law from the bench."

http://starbulletin.com/2002/11/08/news/story1.html

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Judge Mario Ramil is expected to testify regarding his business, professional and personal relationships with Henry Peters; Judge Alan Kay; Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo; Judge James Duffy; Judge David Ezra; Judge Kevin Chang; Judge Vernon Woo; Judge Glenn Kim; Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate; William S. Richardson; Colleen Wong; Louanne Kam; Nathan Aipa; Dee Jay Mailer; Hamilton McCubbin; Linda Lingle; Bob Awana; Shelton Jim On; Kitty Lagareta; Hill & Knowlton; Ted Liu; Mark Bennett; J.P. Schmidt; Robbie Alm, Lisa Ginoza, Robert Kihune; Gilbert Tam; Al Hee, Clayton Hee, Sandwich Isles Communications; Summit Communications; Guido Giacometti; Susan Tius; Earl Anzai; Lyn Anzai; Robert Katz, Matt Tsukazaki, Torkildson Katz Fonseca Moore & Hetherington; Colbert Matsumoto; Jeffrey Stone; Richard “Dickie” Wong; Ko Olina Partners; Akaku; Everett Dowling; Don E. Carroll; The Nature Conservancy; Steffanie Case; Haunani Apoliona; Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Dan Case; Steve Case; Ed Case; Jeffrey Case; Steven Guttman; Mary Lou Woo; Carol Muranaka; Sabrina Toma; Ernest Hanaumi; Michael Nauyokas; Colleen Hanabusa; Stanley Hong; William McCorriston; Nelson Befitel; Warren Luke; Jean Rolles; Outrigger Hotels; Peter Savio; Judge Colleen Harai; Judith Neustadter Fuqua; Howard K.K. Luke; E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company; Rosemarie Fazio, Judge Keith Tanaka, James B. Nicholson, David Farmer, Judge Michael Seabright, Jeffrey Sia, Gerard Jervis, Judge Ronald Moon, Robin Campaniano, Wayne Metcalf, Rey Graulty, J.P. Schmidt, and others to be named upon discovery.