Leilani insurance lawsuit hits court

West Hawaii Today

A Hilo judge will decide whether certain defendants will be dismissed from a lawsuit filed by an elderly Leilani Estates couple who allege their insurer is acting in bad faith by not approving the claim they made after losing their home during the eruption of Kilauea volcano earlier this year.

Honolulu attorney Lennes Omuro, representing the defendants, argued Oct. 31 before Hilo Circuit Judge Henry Nakamoto that claims of bad faith brought by Philip and Lanell Haysmer against John Mullen and Co., Arm Claims Inc. and Specialty Group LLC won’t withstand legal scrutiny and should be dismissed.

Big Island special education teacher arrested for allegedly choking a student

Khon2

HONOLULU (KHON2) – A special education teacher on the Big Island has been arrested for allegedly assaulting one of his students.

The boy’s family says the teacher choked him and threw him against a fence, while an aide assigned to the child did nothing to stop it.

The boy’s mother says the fifth-grader has been traumatized. And he hasn’t been able to go back to school since it happened last week Monday.

“I have all these bruises all around my neck,” said 12-year-old Dashay Souza Nascimento.

His family says he was on a field trip with other special education students at Keaau Elementary School when he started acting up and threw a rock at his teacher. A witness who called the police told Dashay’s mother what happened next.

Court finds double DUI suspect guilty, hands down 5-year sentence

West Hawaii Today

KEALAKEKUA — A man accused of driving drunk twice within 24 hours and striking a pedestrian within that time was found guilty by a 3rd Circuit Court judge on Wednesday and sentenced to five years incarceration, despite the defendant’s no contest plea.

Nicholas Martin was first arrested on the evening of Nov. 30, 2017, after striking a parked vehicle on Lako Street in Kailua-Kona. Deputy Prosecutor Mark Disher stated to the court that his blood alcohol content level measured at 0.172, more than double the legal limit.

Toddler’s death last year in Waimea under investigation by prosecutor’s office

Hawaii Tribune Herald

KAILUA-KONA — The parents of a 3-year-old toddler who died last year while in foster care are hopeful a 44-year-old Honokaa woman arrested for murder in connection with the boy’s death will be brought to justice.

“Today, our suspicions and worst fears were confirmed when we were told that our 3-year-old son, Fabian Garett-Garcia, was murdered,” says Fabian’s parents, Sherri-Ann Garett and Juben Garcia, in a statement via their attorney, Jeffrey Foster. “There are no words that can describe the way we feel today.

Third Lava Lawsuit Filed Against Lloyd’s of London

Big Island Now

Another lava lawsuit has been filed against Lloyd’s of London, according to Hawai‘i Attorney Jeffrey Foster, who is representing Susie Osborne, the founder and director of the Big Island’s Kua o Ka Lā New Century Charter School.

She is taking on a network of affiliated agents, brokers and adjusters tied to Lloyd’s of London after the world’s largest insurer allegedly sold her a Lloyd’s certificate of home insurance, then illegally denied her coverage after her home burned to the ground, according to a new lawsuit filed by Foster Law Offices.

Third Leilani resident filed lawsuit against insurance giant

Kitv4

International insurance giant, Lloyd’s of London, slapped with another lava insurance lawsuit.

A third Leilani Estates resident is suing the company after losing her home and charter school to lava.

“Truly had a beautiful home, big high ceilings, nice garden, my three cats,” Susie Osbourne, Leilani Estates home owner said.

Osbourne is still reeling after losing her house on Mohala Street to lava.

Big Island woman arrested on suspicion of killing 3 year old boy

Kitv4

Fabian Garett-Garcia died while in foster care last year and his parents says their suspicions of abuse went un-checked.

“The parents have been waiting a long time,” Jeffrey Foster, parent’s lawyer said.

The autopsy results arrived more than a year after Fabian Garett-Garcia died.

“We’re hopeful that the prosecutor’s office will be filing charges and we’ll be pursuing the prosecution aggressively and ensuring that the persons responsible the people responsible for Fabian’s death will be held accountable to the fullest extent under the law,” Foster said.

Second Lava Lawsuit Filed Against Lloyd’s of London

Big Island Now

The home in Leilani Estates remains standing.

It is not covered in Kīlauea’s lava and has not burned to the ground.

Although Lloyd’s of London confirmed in writing that this home was a “total loss,” the insurer denied another homeowner the benefits paid for with thousands of dollars in premium payments, according to Big Island Attorney Jeffrey Foster, who is spearheading the legal fight against the world’s largest insurer.

Insurer denies claim submitted by elderly couple displaced by lava

Hawaii News Now

PUNA, BIG ISLAND (HawaiiNewsNow) – Lloyd’s of London, a national insurer, has officially denied a claim submitted by an elderly couple who is now living in a friend’s garage.

The denial came via fax just days after the Leilani Estates residents sued for failing to give them lava damages — despite paying $2,700 a year in premiums.

Philip and Lunel Haysmer’s home burned down in early May when lava first entered into the Puna subdivision. According to their suit, the insurer, a syndication group led by Lloyd’s of London, has failed to honor their damage claims.

Their lawyer, Jeffrey Foster, said the couple is among a dozen homeowners whose claims are being denied.

Lloyd’s of Lawsuits

West Hawaii Today

HILO — An elderly couple who lost their Leilani Estates home due to the ongoing Kilauea eruption is taking their insurer to court for allegedly acting in bad faith.

Philip and Lanell Haysmer, who were insured through Lloyd’s of London, filed their insurance claim May 24 after their house on Luana Street was destroyed, apparently from a fire caused by the eruption.