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CRAIG T. KOJIMA / 2012
De-Occupy Honolulu set up tents at the University of Hawaii in September 2012.
The city admitted no wrongdoing Friday in a U.S. District Court settlement with members of the De-Occupy Honolulu group who sued over a law that allows the city to seize property on city sidewalks.
However, in a hearing before Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang held Friday morning, the city also agreed to pay $1,000 to the group and return any seized items.
Richard Holcomb, attorney for the De-Occupy group, said: "Our clients are pleased with the settlement."
An offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that took shape in September 2011, De-Occupy Honolulu filed the suit in December 2012 in an effort to block the city’s enforcement of the so-called stored property ordinance.
That law allows the city to seize tents or other property left on city sidewalks provided those items are tagged at least 24 hours in advance. The suit alleged that the law violated the constitutional rights of campers by illegally seizing their property and interfering with their right to free speech.
Many of the tagged items were from a De-Occupy Honolulu camp at Thomas Square.
