Clifford Y.C. Lai and Victoria L. Lai v. City and County of Honolulu, a Municipal Corporation

The appellants, Clifford and Victoria Lai (the “Lais”), appeal the district court’s dismissal of their 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights action as time-barred. 562 F.Supp. 903 motion to amend denied 575 F.Supp. 1510 . Because the district court applied the incorrect statute of limitations, the district court’s order is reversed.

FACTS

In 1971, the Lais purchased a 30,000 square-foot parcel of property in Honolulu, Hawaii. On August 4, 1975, the City and County of Honolulu (the “City”) adopted an ordinance, which lowered the permissible building height on the Lais’ property from 350 feet to 25 feet. Thereafter, the Lais applied to the City for a variance. The City denied the application on September 15, 1976. On September 14, 1978, the Lais filed suit in the United States District Court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , claiming that the ordinance deprived them of property without just compensation.

The district court concluded that the Lais’ cause of action accrued on September 15, 1976, the date upon which their application for a variance was denied. The district court held that the appropriate statute of limitations for actions brought under section 1983 is Haw.Rev.Stat (“H.R.S.”) §…