[PART I. 
ANTITRUST PROVISIONS]



 



Revision Note



 



  Sections 480-1 to 24 have been designated Part I in view of
addition of Part II by L 1972, c 205.



 



Law Journals and Reviews



 



  Updating Unfair or Deceptive Acts and Practices Under Chapter
480-2.  10 HBJ No. 13, at pg. 109.



 



§480-1  Definitions.  As used in this
chapter:



"Class action" includes the
definition as provided in rule 23 of the Hawaii rules of civil procedure.



"Commodity" includes, but is not
restricted to, goods, merchandise, produce, choses in action, and any other
article of commerce.  It also includes trade or business in service trades,
transportation, insurance, banking, lending, advertising, bonding, and any
other business.



"Consumer" means a natural person
who, primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, purchases, attempts
to purchase, or is solicited to purchase goods or services or who commits
money, property, or services in a personal investment.



"De facto class action" means an
action that has not been certified by the court but includes identical
considerations as provided in Hawaii rules of civil procedure rule 23 such as
common questions of law or fact, claims or defenses of the representative
parties are typical of the claims or defenses of nonparties and, as a practical
matter, the disposition of the interest of the class or other members not
parties to the adjudications would substantially impair or impede their ability
to protect their interest.



"Person" or "persons"
includes individuals, corporations, firms, trusts, partnerships, limited
partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability limited
partnerships, limited liability companies, and incorporated or unincorporated
associations, existing under or authorized by the laws of this State, or any other
state, or any foreign country.



"Purchase" or "buy"
includes "contract to buy", "lease", "contract to
lease", "acquire a license", and "contract to acquire a
license".



"Purchaser" includes the equivalent
terms of "purchase" and "buy".



"Sale" or "sell" includes
"contract to sell", "lease", "contract to lease",
"license", and "contract to license".



"Seller" includes the equivalent
terms of "sale" and "sell". [L 1961, c 190, §1; Supp,
§205A-1; HRS §480-1; am L 1987, c 274, §1; am L 1990, c 63, §1; am L 2005, c
108, §1]



 



Attorney General Opinions



 



  Land and land activities are within scope of chapter. Att.
Gen. Op. 62-39.



 



Law Journals and Reviews



 



  The Antitrust Laws and Land: An Answer to Hawaii's Housing
Crisis?  8 HBJ 5.



 



Case Notes



 



  Because defendant wholesale food marketer and distributor did
not meet definition of a consumer, it lacked standing to sue for deceptive
practices under §480-2.  61 F. Supp. 2d 1092.



  Defendants' motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' claim
under §480-4 granted; although the word "commodity" was defined to
include "any other business", the purchase of real estate by an
individual owner could not be considered a business.  338 F. Supp. 2d 1106.



  Where the dispute giving rise to a claim for unfair and
deceptive act in trade or commerce occurred after the alleged injury, when
plaintiff alleged that defendant failed to comply with their agreement
regarding the release of plaintiff's medical records, plaintiff lacked standing
as a consumer to bring a claim under §480-2, and defendant was not engaged in
trade or commerce.  383 F. Supp. 2d 1244.



  Suit against State based on this chapter precluded by
sovereign immunity.  60 H. 228, 588 P.2d 430.



  Real estate or residences did not qualify as
"goods" under this section, but did qualify as "personal
investments"; homebuyer thus had standing as "consumer" to bring
claim under §480-13.  80 H. 54, 905 P.2d 29.



  Where employee was not a "consumer" as defined
under this section, employee lacked standing to maintain private cause of
action under §480-13 against workers' compensation insurer based on alleged
violation of §480-2.  83 H. 457, 927 P.2d 858.



  Where employer was not a "consumer" as defined
under this section, employee could not maintain action under §480-13, based on
employee's third party beneficiary status, against workers' compensation
insurer for alleged violation of §480-2.  83 H. 457, 927 P.2d 858.



  By the plain language of this chapter, no actual purchase is
necessary as a prerequisite to a consumer recovering damages under §480-13,
based on injuries stemming from violations of §480-2.  98 H. 309, 47 P.3d 1222.



  Where unincorporated association of apartment owners was not
a "consumer" as defined by this section, it lacked standing to bring
an action based upon unfair or deceptive acts or practices declared unlawful by
§480-2.  115 H. 232, 167 P.3d 225.



  Although plaintiffs were "consumers" within the
meaning of §480-13 and this section, plaintiffs' payment of their Hawaii
medical services association (HMSA) lien to the Kentucky-based company that
contracted with HMSA to provide subrogation and "claims recovery
services", but which had violated §443B-3 (collection agency registration
requirements), did not constitute an injury for which plaintiffs could bring
suit under §480-13(b).  117 H. 153, 177 P.3d 341.



  Where, based on the obligations arising from the "loan
agreements" the Hawaii medical services association (HMSA) required
plaintiffs to sign when they received their medical treatments, which loan
agreements could have been enforced by HMSA and could have been considered a
form of payment for the health care the plaintiffs received, plaintiffs were
"consumers" who, by virtue of the agreement, engaged in a consumer
transaction.  117 H. 153, 177 P.3d 341.



  Plaintiff suing store's commercial general liability insurer
for injuries received in slip and fall was not "consumer" as defined
in this section, and therefore lacked standing to maintain private cause of
action under §480-13.  82 H. 363 (App.), 922 P.2d 976.



  Plaintiff corporation and officers of corporation were not
"consumers" as defined in this section; thus, plaintiffs,
individually and collectively, did not have standing to bring suit under
chapter 480 for alleged unfair/deceptive trade practices.  107 H. 423 (App.),
114 P.3d 929.