NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER
Electronically Filed
Intermediate Court of Appeals
CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
29-FEB-2024
07:46 AM
Dkt. 95 SO
NO. CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX
IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS
OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I
SHELDON COLLIER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.
STATE OF HAWAI#I, Defendant-Appellee, and
JOHN DOES 1-5, Defendants-Appellees
APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT
(CIVIL NO. 1CC171000406)
SUMMARY DISPOSITION ORDER
(By: Leonard, Acting Chief Judge, Hiraoka and Wadsworth, JJ.)
Plaintiff-Appellant Sheldon Collier (Collier) appeals
from the October 3, 2019 Judgment (Judgment) entered by the
Circuit Court of the First Circuit (Circuit Court) in favor of
Defendant-Appellee State of Hawai<i (State).1 Collier also
challenges the Circuit Court's July 10, 2019 Findings of Fact
[(FOFs)], Conclusions of Law [(COLs)] and Order; Notice of Entry
(FOFs, COLs, and Order).
Collier raises six points of error on appeal,
contending that: (1) the FOFs are inadequate because they did
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The Honorable James H. Ashford presided.
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not include facts pertinent to his Complaint or his argument at
trial; (2) COL 4 is incorrect because the Department of Public
Safety (DPS) "did not properly follow [Hawaii Revised Statutes
(HRS) § 706-]668.5 for 20 years (1986 to December 31, 2004)," and
because DPS's "new practice is retroactive without any procedural
safeguards to prevent what promised to be a high risk of over
detention"; (3) COL 5 is incorrect because the manner in which
DPS recalculated Collier's release date was a "fail[ure] to apply
reasonable safety precautions to avoid an elevated foreseeable
risk of over detention"; (4) COL 6 is incorrect because Collier
was overdetained and the "delay was the result of [DPS's]
negligence"; (5) COL 7 is incorrect because Collier "did prove he
was overdetained by getting a Second Amended Judgment"; and (6)
the FOFs, COLs, and Order and Judgment are incorrect because the
FOFs do not "address any of the issues of the negligence claimed"
and because the COLs "are infirm and being supported by
inadequate findings as to [Collier's] claim of negligence."
Upon careful review of the record and the briefs
submitted by the parties, and having given due consideration to
the arguments advanced and the issues raised by the parties, we
resolve Collier's points of error as follows:
(1) Collier argues that the Circuit Court failed to
make FOFs necessary to address his negligence claims. Collier
also argues that the inadequate FOFs rendered the COLs infirm and
led to an erroneous judgment.
We have held that "[w]here an appellant alleges that
the trial court failed to make adequate findings of fact,
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the appellate court will examine all the findings, as made,
to determine whether they are (1) supported by the evidence;
and (2) sufficiently comprehensive and pertinent to the
issues in the case to form a basis for the conclusions of
law. If those findings include sufficient subsidiary facts
to disclose to the reviewing court the steps by which the
lower court reached its ultimate conclusion on each factual
issue, then the findings are adequate."
State v. Ramos-Saunders, 135 Hawai<i 299, 304, 349 P.3d 406, 411
(App. 2015) (citation omitted; emphasis added).
Collier argues that his claims that he was overdetained
due to the State's negligence and that precautionary measures
would have prevented his overdetention were not addressed in the
FOFs.
The Circuit Court's FOFs include, inter alia, that:
DPS modified its sentencing practices to conform to HRS § 706-
668.5(1) "on or about January 1, 2005"; the Amended Judgment
sentencing Collier to five years imprisonment did not state "that
the terms were to run concurrently with any other sentence";
Collier, while released on parole, violated the terms of parole,
and HPA informed Collier that his release date was April 18,
2009; DPS employee Nettie Arias (Arias) then recalculated
Collier's sentence in February of 2008 pursuant to DPS Policy
No.: COR.05.05, which brought DPS in conformity with HRS § 706-
668.5(1); Arias notified Collier that his original release date
was extended from April 18, 2009, to July 31, 2012; Collier
testified that the change was devastating and that he told Arias
the recalculation was a mistake; Collier's then-counsel filed the
Motion to Amend Judgment, resulting in the Second Amended
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Judgment, which ordered Collier's sentences "to be served
concurrently"; and DPS released Collier the next day.
The FOFs are supported by substantial evidence in the
record, are pertinent to the issues concerning Collier's alleged
overdetention, and include sufficient facts to allow this court
to review the Circuit Court's ultimate conclusion. Thus, we
conclude that Collier's argument is without merit.
(2) Collier argues that COLs 4-7 are incorrect because
the State did not prevent the foreseeable harm of overdetainment
that came with his recalculated release date.
Based upon the record before us and, inter alia, the
version of HRS § 706-668.5(1) that was in effect in February of
2008, we conclude that the Circuit Court did not err in
concluding that Collier was not overdetained and did not
otherwise err in COLs 4-7. Arias correctly recalculated
Collier's release date based on the terms of the Amended Judgment
and the version of HRS § 706-668.5(1) in effect at the time. See
Simeona v. Dydasco, CAAP-XX-XXXXXXX, 2015 WL 1400952, *1 (Haw.
App. March 27, 2015) (SDO); Alston v. Read,
663 F.3d 1094 (9th
Cir. 2011). Collier was released the day after the Second
Amended Judgment was entered. Because Collier was not
overdetained, his claim of negligence and any other claims based
on overdetention, fail.
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For these reasons, the Circuit Court's October 3, 2019
Judgment is affirmed.
DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, February 29, 2024.
On the briefs: /s/ Katherine G. Leonard
Acting Chief Judge
Jack Schweigert,
for Plaintiff-Appellant. /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka
Associate Judge
Caron M. Inagaki,
Kendall J. Moser, /s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth
William K. Awong, Associate Judge
Deputy Attorneys General,
State of Hawai#i,
for Defendant-Appellee.
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