Discrimination case against Honolulu Liquor Commission settled, plaintiffs confirm

A 2021 federal lawsuit filed by the owners of a Chinatown nightclub and a guide to the islands that caters to the LGBTQ+ community, alleging anti-gay discrimination by investigators working for the Honolulu Liquor Commission , has been resolved for the time being.

Under the preliminary agreement, plaintiffs would contract Scarlet Honolulu Inc. and Gay Island Guide LLC would receive $670,000, and would require, among other things, federal court oversight of aspects of the troubled city agency charged solely with the power and authority to license production. import or sale of liquor within the city and province.

The Honolulu City Council must vote to finalize the settlement agreement, an action that could happen in November.

Originally, the complaint included the names of two liquor commission investigators – Jacob Fears and Catherine Fontaine – who, along with other investigators working for the city, allegedly engaged in an “ongoing campaign of unlawful, unconstitutional and highly discriminatory anti-gay harassment of Scarlet, Gay Island Guide, and generally the LGBTQ+ community in Honolulu,” which continued for more than six years, according to the complaint and attorney James DiPasquale.

After the city filed a motion to dismiss the Scarlet case last year, Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson issued a 38-page order on August 3, 2023 allowing the case to proceed.

But the judge’s earlier ruling dismissed all claims against the two researchers – Fears and Fontaine – in their official capacities.

In preparation for trial in the Scarlet case, DiPasquale previously told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that his clients were seeking $2.5 million in damages plus an additional amount, not less than another $2.5 million, in punitive damages.

The trial started in late September.

But on October 8, seven days after the proceedings began, and following testimony from Scarlet co-owner Joseph Luna, who detailed specific instances of previous bigotry, including attacking a transgender employee, the parties reached a resolution and were referred to Magistrate Judge Kenneth. Mansfield for an “on the record” settlement, according to nightclub co-owner Robbie Baldwin.

“We were led to the magistrate in the middle of the trial to set the settlement parameters,” Baldwin told the Star-Advertiser. “Judge Mansfield agreed that the court will conduct the oversight. The lawyers are drafting the agreement.”

The city, for its part, declined to provide details of the interim arrangement.

“As the settlement is still pending City Council approval, we cannot comment at this time,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy director of communications, told the Star-Advertiser.

According to Baldwin, the terms of the tentative agreement largely include changes in the way liquor commission investigators operate. They include:

>> Quarterly monitoring and reporting required to the court to monitor the status of implementation of those changes.

>> Full implementation of the independent evaluation report prepared by the city government and the then commissioners, carried out by Hui Chen in 2023, according to an agreed but reasonable time frame. Chen, a strategic advisor to the city’s chief executive, released a scathing, months-long report highlighting the liquor commission’s significant problems with the policies and practices used to enforce Oahu’s liquor laws.

>> Full implementation of all open municipal checkpoints since 2005.

>> A $670,000 payment to plaintiffs.

In addition, the preliminary settlement includes the use of body cameras by investigators and the use of an automated randomizer to select liquor license holders to be randomly inspected, Baldwin said.

In a written statement, Baldwin said that “one of the things we wanted was a federal monitor or consistent federal judicial review to ensure compliance with the reforms.”

According to court documents, Judge Mansfield will hear a status update on the settlement agreement on November 7.

Meanwhile, liquor commission administrator Sal Petilos told the Star-Advertiser that his agency is currently “addressing all system overhaul recommendations” announced this summer.

“And our staff and leadership have worked diligently to fully implement these recommendations,” he said.

Petilos noted that these efforts include “a reorganization of the HLC field service department”; more and better training opportunities for staff; encumbrance of funds for the development of new applications that will enable the randomization of routine inspection and geolocation history data; and updates to the policies and procedures that guide our enforcement activities.”

But related lawsuits involving the city’s Liquor Commission are expected next year.

To that end, the city has asked for more legal fees to defend against a 2023 federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that three researchers subjected another researcher, Jhumar Ray Waite, to discrimination, harassment and a hostile work environment based on his sexual orientation and race after he started. his job with the city in 2022.

Waite’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, names defendants Fears, Fontaine and Glen Nishigata, and alleges that the trio, in their official and individual capacities, violated portions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related state laws violated. to discrimination against Waite.

Waite — who has worked as a liquor researcher in Honolulu since August 2022 — is gay and Filipino, the complaint said.

To combat this lawsuit, the city has asked the Council to adopt Resolution 249, which requires an additional $115,000 to pay law firm Kobayashi Sugita &Goda LLC to defend the city against the Waite civil lawsuit.

On October 9, Council unanimously approved the city’s funding request.

Scott Humber, the mayor’s communications director, previously told the Star-Advertiser that “the city is vigorously defending itself against these claims and believes the evidence will show the allegations are without merit.”

“The Waite case is currently in the discovery and motion phase,” he said. “The city has filed a motion to rule on the pleadings requesting dismissal of the case.”

The trial will begin on April 14, he added.

DiPasquale, Waite’s attorney, said this case continues in part because no settlement has been reached between his client and the city.

“They’ve offered pennies as far as we’re concerned,” DiPasquale previously told the Star-Advertiser, “and they’re just not really taking it seriously.”