Kaua‘i group’s COVID-19 suit dismissed by judge

The U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaiʻi dismissed a federal constitutional challenge to COVID-19 emergency proclamations issued by former Gov. David Ige.

Gov. Ige issued the first emergency proclamation concerning COVID-19 on March 4, 2020, and thereafter issued multiple supplemental emergency proclamations regarding the global pandemic’s impact on Hawaiʻi. The last COVID-19 emergency proclamation in Hawaiʻi expired on March 25, 2022.

The plaintiffs—a non-profit corporation called “For Our Rights” and five residents of Kauaʻi—sought monetary damages, claiming that Gov. Ige violated their due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by issuing the subject emergency proclamations without first making individualized health assessments, offering timely notice about the requirement to quarantine and the right to challenge it, and holding hearings.

U.S. District Court Judge Jill A. Otake rejected these arguments and dismissed the case, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment did not require that the emergency proclamations provide for individualized notice or hearings and that the quarantine requirement in the emergency proclamations did not constitute a “seizure” within the meaning of the Constitution.

“The COVID-19 Emergency Proclamations were lawful and addressed the unprecedented impact of a global pandemic on our islands,” said Deputy Attorney General Skyler Cruz, who served as lead counsel in the litigation. “We are grateful for the Court’s thoughtful and well-reasoned analysis.”