A state judge ruled Thursday that the private citizens who are suing five Oahu churches for underpaying for the use of public school facilities did not provide enough detail to support their fraud claim.
Because of that, Circuit Judge Virginia Crandall ordered the dismissal of the complaint filed by Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of Church and State founder Mitch Kahle and his wife, public advocate Holly Huber. Crandall did, however, say Kahle and Huber can refile an amended lawsuit.
The dismissal will not be official until Crandall signs off on a written order, which she instructed attorney James Bickerton to prepare.
Bickerton, Kahle and Huber’s lawyer, said they have all the detailed information and will include it in the amended complaint.
Jim Hochberg, a lawyer for two of the five churches being sued, said he can’t imagine why, if the plaintiffs had those facts, they didn’t include them in the first place.
Bickerton said the information is included in documents contained in the 45 exhibits he attached to the original lawsuit he filed on behalf of Kahle and Huber in March and that he is happy to include those details in the complaint itself.
Kahle and Huber filed suit against New Hope Oahu, New Hope Hawaii Kai, New Hope Kapolei, One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Central Oahu.
Hochberg is one of the lawyers for One Love Ministries and Calvary Chapel Central Oahu.
The lawsuit claims that the five churches underpaid the state Department of Education for the use of public school facilities by more than $5.6 million over the past six years by using the facilities for longer periods than what the churches promised and paid for.
Kahle and Huber filed the lawsuit on behalf of the state because, according to their claim, the state and the DOE suffered the loss. However, if they prevail, the pair will get a reward of 25 percent to 30 percent of the damages. The rest will go to the state.
Crandall ruled that the current lawsuit fails to satisfy a state legal requirement that claims of fraud shall state "with particularity" the circumstances constituting the fraud.
