Hawai’i Court: Lower Court Didn’t Err When It Didn’t Require Plaintiff to Disclose Individual Settlement Amounts

HONOLULU –– A Hawai’i intermediate appellate court has rejected an asbestos defendant’s position that a lower court erred when it did not require the plaintiffs to disclose individual settlement amounts it reached with other defendants involved in the litigation.

In the March 16 opinion, the Hawai’i Intermediate Court of Appeals found that the disclosure of an aggregate settlement amount was sufficient.

Plaintiff Gail K. Dias asserted the underlying claims on behalf of Manuel Alton Souza Dias, contending that the decedent was exposed to asbestos while working at Hamakua Sugar Company for 20 years. As a result of the exposure, Dias …