The Hawaii Supreme Court reinstated a circuit court lawsuit Thursday seeking to protect a historic trail from a development on Kauai’s south shore.

The ruling involves a trail known as Hapa Road and the Eric A. Knudsen Trust’s Village at Poipu residential subdivision, which covers 208 acres.

The court set aside lower court rulings that tossed out the suit filed by Theodore Blake, a Native Hawaiian whose ancestors lived in Koloa.

The court sent the case back to the Circuit Court on Kauai to consider the lawsuit’s claims.They contend that state and county agencies failed to meet public trust obligations regarding historic sites and that the Knudsen trust negligently failed to preserve Hapa trail.

The Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation represented Blake.