Order grants motion to dismiss appeal in S.H. v. R.N.

Hawaii Supreme Court

Filed March 24th, 2026

Detected March 25th, 2026

Summary

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals granted a motion to dismiss an appeal filed by S.H. against R.N. The court found it lacked appellate jurisdiction because the appealed orders did not finally determine the post-decree custody issue. Consequently, the appeal has been dismissed.

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What changed

The Hawaii Intermediate Court of Appeals has issued an order granting a motion to dismiss the appeal in the case of S.H. v. R.N. The dismissal is based on a lack of appellate jurisdiction, as the orders under appeal (regarding emergency ex parte motions for custody and reconsideration thereof) did not finally determine the post-decree custody issue. This ruling follows a stipulation to dismiss the appeal by the appellant, S.H., and the appellee's motion to dismiss.

This decision means the appeal is officially closed and cannot proceed. Regulated entities, particularly legal professionals involved in family law and appellate procedures, should note that appeals are only permissible when a court order definitively resolves all issues in a proceeding. Failure to meet this jurisdictional requirement will result in dismissal, as demonstrated in this case.

Source document (simplified)

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-26-0000024 24-MAR-2026 08:12 AM Dkt. 34 OGMD

NO. CAAP-26-0000024 IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI#I S.H., Plaintiff-Appellant,

R.N., Defendant-Appellee. APPEAL FROM THE FAMILY COURT OF THE SECOND CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 2DV171000326) ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS APPEAL (By: Hiraoka, Presiding Judge, Wadsworth and Guidry, JJ.) Upon consideration of Defendant-Appellee R.N.'s February 5, 2026 Motion to Dismiss Appeal for Lack of Appellate

Jurisdiction, Plaintiff-Appellant S.H.'s March 12, 2026 Stipulation to Dismiss Appeal Without Prejudice, the respective

papers in support and in opposition, and the record, it appears that: (1) S.H. appeals from the September 26, 2025 [Denied]

Order Regarding Emergency Ex Parte Motion for Custody and the

October 21, 2025 Order Denying Motion for Reconsider of Order

Denying Plaintiff's Emergency Ex Parte Motion for Custody Filed October 6 2025, entered in the Family Court of the Second

Circuit; (2) A post-decree order is appealable if it finally determines all issues raised in the post-decree proceeding, Hall

Hall, 96 Hawai#i 105, 111 n.4, 26 P.3d 594, 600 n.4 (App.
(citation omitted), vacated in part on other grounds, 95 Hawai i# 318, 22 P.3d 965 (2001); and

NOT FOR PUBLICATION IN WEST'S HAWAI#I REPORTS AND PACIFIC REPORTER

(3) The orders from which S.H. appeals do not finally determine the post-decree issue of custody. See, e.g., RL v. DL, No. CAAP-20-0000462, 2020 WL 5092801, at *2 (App. Aug. 28, 2020) (Order) (dismissing appeal for lack of jurisdiction and concluding that "[a]fter entry of a post-judgment order that finally determines this last remaining [post-decree] issue, any aggrieved party will have an opportunity to timely appeal"). Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion to Dismiss is granted. This appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Stipulation to Dismiss is denied as moot. DATED: Honolulu, Hawai#i, March 24, 2026. /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka Presiding Judge /s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth Associate Judge /s/ Kimberly T. Guidry Associate Judge