NO. 30086
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF HAWAI‘I
DEBBIE L. CAWTHON and RONALD D. CAWTHON,
Petitioners,
vs.
DARWIN CHING,
DIRECTOR, STATE OF HAWAI‘I DEPARTMENT
OF LABOR AND
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS and
GARY HAMADA,
ADMINISTRATOR, WORKER'S COMPENSATION
DIVISION,
STATE OF HAWAI‘I, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
AND
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Respondents.
ORIGINAL PROCEEDING
ORDER
(By: Moon,
C.J., Nakayama, Acoba, Duffy, and Recktenwald, JJ.)
Upon consideration of the petition for a writ of mandamus filed by
petitioners Debbie L. Cawthon and Ronald D. Cawthon
and the papers in support, it appears that the furnishing of medical
care and the payment of
benefits under HRS Chapter 386 are not ministerial duties of the
respondents. Therefore, petitioners are 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.
DATED: Honolulu,
Hawai‘i, October 19, 2009.