NO. 29716
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I
LOLA SUZUKI, Petitioner,
vs.
ROLAND Q.F.
THOM, CHAIRMAN, LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS
APPEALS BOARD; HEALTHWAYS, INC.; and
ST. PAUL
TRAVELERS, Respondents.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
(CASE NO. AB
2007-497 (2-06-14727))
(CASE NO. AB
2007-498 (2-07-04617))
ORDER
(By: Moon, C.J., Nakayama, Acoba, and Duffy, JJ., and Circuit
Judge Valenciano, assigned by reason of vacancy)
Upon consideration of the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by
petitioner Lola Suzuki and the papers in support, it
appears that petitioner fails to demonstrate that the respondent
chairman of the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board (LIRAB)
had a duty to rule in favor of petitioner
on the matters of treatment, discovery, appeal issues, summary
judgment, and sanctions. Respondent's rulings will be
reviewable on appeal to the intermediate court of appeals from the
LIRAB's final decision in AB 2007-497 and AB 2007-498. See HRS § 386-88
(Supp. 2008). Therefore, petitioner is not entitled to mandamus relief.
See HRS §
602-5(3)
(Supp. 2008) (The supreme court has jurisdiction and power to issue
writs of
mandamus directed to public officers to compel them to fulfill the
duties of their
offices.); In Re
Disciplinary Bd. Of Hawaii Supreme Court, 91 Hawai‘i 363, 368,
984 P.2d 688, 693 (1999) (Mandamus relief is available to compel an
official to
perform a duty allegedly owed to an individual only if the individual's
claim is
clear and certain, the official's duty is ministerial and so plainly
prescribed as
to be free from doubt, and no other remedy is available.); Salling v. Moon, 76
Hawai‘i 273, 274 n. 3, 874 P.2d 1098, 1099 n.3 (1994) ("A duty is
ministerial
where the law prescribes and defines the duty to be performed with such
precision
and certainty as to leave nothing to the exercise of discretion and
judgment."). Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED that the petition for a writ of mandamus is denied.
IT IS FURTHER
ORDERED that the motion for leave to amend the petition is denied.
DATED: Honolulu,
Hawai‘i, April 9, 2009.