The Hawaii Supreme Court Tuesday denied a request by retired car dealer James Pflueger to review a state appeals court ruling that upheld manslaughter charges against him in the deaths of seven people killed after the 2006 Ka Loko Dam breach.

In its one-sentence order, the high court unanimously rejected Pflueger’s motion.

The decision clears the way for Pflueger to be tried in Kauai Circuit Court.

Pflueger’s attorney, William McCorriston, said the case will be sent back to Kauai Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano, who likely will meet the lawyers and set the date for the trial.

McCorriston said it will be next year at the earliest, but also said he plans to file other motions seeking to dismiss the charges.

Pflueger, 85, is accused of filling in the dam’s safety valve and disregarding the risk that the dam might break and kill people.

His lawyers argued that the evidence didn’t support the charges, but Valenciano would not dismiss the case last year.

In June, a panel of the Intermediate Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed Valenciano’s decision.

Seven people died when hundreds of thousands of gallons of water surged from the Ka Loko reservoir on Kauai’s north shore on March 14, 2006.

Pflueger also faces federal tax charges in an unrelated case scheduled for trial in May.