Amended order dismisses appeal for lack of jurisdiction

Hawaii Supreme Court

Filed March 5th, 2026

Detected March 6th, 2026

Summary

The Intermediate Court of Appeals of the State of Hawaii issued an amended order dismissing an appeal filed by J.M. The dismissal is due to a lack of jurisdiction, as the Family Court had not yet entered a dissolution of marriage order, rendering the appealed order not independently appealable. The court will take no further action on related orders and motions.

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What changed

The Intermediate Court of Appeals of the State of Hawaii has issued an amended order dismissing the appeal in case CAAP-25-0000623, filed by Defendant-Appellant J.M. The dismissal is based on a lack of appellate jurisdiction because the underlying Family Court order denying the petition for return of subject children is not independently appealable, and no dissolution of marriage order had been entered. The court also noted it would take no further action on a related Order to Show Cause and dismissed all pending motions.

This action means the appeal is terminated. For regulated entities, this reinforces the procedural requirements for appealing family court orders, particularly those related to child custody or return petitions, emphasizing the need for a final, appealable order. No specific compliance actions are required for entities outside of this specific case, but it serves as a reminder of jurisdictional rules in appellate proceedings.

Source document (simplified)

NOT FO R PUBLICATIO N IN WEST'S H AWAI # I REPO RTS AND PACIFIC REP ORTER Electronically Filed Intermediate Court of Appeals CAAP-25-0000623 05-MAR-2026 08:28 AM Dkt. 36 AMORD NO. CAAP-25-0000623 IN THE INTERMEDIATE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF HAWAI # I A.B., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. J.M., Defendant-Appellant APPEAL FROM THE FAMILY COURT OF THE THIRD CIRCUIT (CASE NO. 3FDV-24-0000414) AMENDED ORDER DISMISSING APPEAL FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION (By: Hiraoka, Presiding Judge, Wadsworth and Guidry, JJ.) Upon review of the record in CAAP-25-0000623 and 3FDV-24-0000414, 1 it appears that: (1) Defendant-Appellant J.M. appeals from the August 11, 2025 Order Denying Defendant's Petition for Return of Subject Children to Defendant-Father entered by the Family Court of the Third Circuit. (2) We lack jurisdiction over this appeal because the Family Court has not entered an order for dissolution of the marriage, HRS § 571–54 (2018); DL v. CL, 146 Hawai # i 328, 337, 1 The court takes judicial notice of the record in 3FDV-24-0000414. Hawai # i Rules of Evidence Rule 201.

NOT FO R PUBLICATIO N IN WEST'S H AWAI # I REPO RTS AND PACIFIC REP ORTER 463 P.3d 985, 994 (2020), and the August 11, 2025 Order is not independently appealable, see Greer v. Baker, 137 Hawai # i 249, 253, 369 P.3d 832, 836 (2016) (reciting the requirements for appeals under the collateral-order doctrine and the Forgay doctrine); HRS § 641-1(b) (2016) (setting forth the requirements for leave to file an interlocutory appeal). Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the court will take no further action on the December 18, 2025 Order to Show Cause. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all pending motions are dismissed. DATED: Honolulu, Hawai # i, March 5, 2026. /s/ Keith K. Hiraoka Presiding Judge /s/ Clyde J. Wadsworth Associate Judge /s/ Kimberly T. Guidry Associate Judge 2