Honolulu Liquor Commission discrimination lawsuit settled, plaintiffs confirm

JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 6 The owners of Scarlet Honolulu in Chinatown, above, and Gay Island Guild initially filed a lawsuit accusing two liquor commission investigators of anti-gay discrimination and harassment.

JAMM AQUINO / APRIL 6 The owners of Scarlet Honolulu in Chinatown, above, and Gay Island Guild initially filed a lawsuit accusing two liquor commission investigators of anti-gay discrimination and harassment.

A federal lawsuit filed in 2021 by the owners of a Chinatown nightclub and an LGBTQ+-friendly island guide in which they alleged anti-gay discrimination by investigators working for the Honolulu Liquor Commission has been tentatively settled.

The tentative agreement would see plaintiffs Scarlet Honolulu Inc. and Gay Island Guide LLC receive $670,000 and require federal court-mandated oversight, among other reforms, of certain aspects of the troubled municipal agency, charged solely with power and of the authority to grant licenses for the manufacture, importation or sale of alcohol in the city and county.

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

The complaint originally named 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 anti-gay harassment, unconstitutional and highly discriminatory against Scarlet, Gay Island Guide, and in general, the Honolulu LGBTQ+ community” which lasted for more than six years, according to the complaint and attorney James DiPasquale.

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

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

Don’t miss what’s happening!

Stay in touch with the biggest news, as it happens, easily in your email inbox. It’s FREE!

Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to the Star-Advertiser and Google Terms of Service and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA.

In preparing 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 an additional $2.5 million, in punitive damages.

The trial began at the end of September.

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

“We were taken to the magistrate in the middle of the trial to lay out the parameters of the settlement in the case,” Baldwin told the Star-Advertiser. “Judge Mans Field agreed that the court would carry out supervision. The lawyers draft the agreement.

The city, for its part, refused to provide details on the interim settlement.

“As the settlement is still awaiting approval by the City Council, we are unable to provide any comment at this time,” Ian Scheuring, the mayor’s deputy communications director, told the Star-Advertiser.

According to Baldwin, the terms of the tentative agreement largely involve changes to the way liquor commission investigators operate. They include:—Required quarterly monitoring and reporting to the court to oversee the status of implementation of these changes.—Full implementation of the independent review report instituted by the City Manager’s Office and the commissioners of the time led by Hui Chen in 2023 in accordance with an agreed but reasonable deadline. Chen, a strategic advisor to the city’s chief executive, released a scathing, months-long study that highlighted significant problems with the liquor commission regarding its policies and practices used to enforce alcohol laws in Oahu. — Full implementation of all outstanding city audit items. since 2005.—A payment of $670,000 to the plaintiffs.

Additionally, the interim regulation will include the use of body cameras by investigators and the use of a computerized “randomizer” in selecting which liquor license holders will be randomly inspected, according to Baldwin.

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

An update on the settlement agreement is scheduled to be heard by Judge Mansfield on Nov. 7, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, Liquor Commission Administrator Sal Petilos told the Star-Advertiser that his agency is “currently addressing all of the system review recommendations,” which were announced during the 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 services branch; increased and improved training opportunities for staff; committing funds to the development of new applications that will make possible the randomization of routine inspection and geolocation history data; and updates to policies and procedures that guide our enforcement activities.

But related litigation involving the city’s Liquor Commission is expected next year.

To that end, the city sought more legal fees to defend against a 2023 federal civil rights lawsuit alleging that three investigators subjected another investigator, Jhumar Ray Waite, to discrimination, harassment and a harsh work environment. hostile due to his sexual orientation and race after he started. its work with the city in 2022.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, Waite’s complaint 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. to discrimination against Waite.

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

To fight the lawsuit, the city asked the Council to pass Resolution 249, which seeks an additional $115,000 to pay the law firm of Kobayashi Sugita & Goda LLC to defend the city against the Waite civil lawsuit.

On October 9, Council unanimously granted the City’s funding request.

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

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

The trial is expected to begin on April 14, he added.

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

“As far as we’re concerned, they’ve been offering pennies,” DiPasquale told the Star-Advertiser, “and they’re just not taking it seriously.”