Larry Cassidy v. State of Hawaii Department of Transportation, Harbors Division Ian Birnie, District Manager, Harbors Division, Port of Hilo

ORDER

The memorandum disposition filed June 26, 1990, is redesignated as an authored opinion by Judge Farris per the attached Opinion.

OPINION

Larry Cassidy appeals the district court’s dismissal of his complaint against the State of Hawaii, Department of Transportation, Harbors Division, and Ian Birnie, the District Manager of the Port of Hilo. Cassidy brought a section 1983 suit alleging that the state deprived him of his property interest in a mooring permit without a pre-deprivation hearing, in violation of his constitutional due process rights. The district court held that suit against the state was barred by the eleventh amendment. The district court also held that the suit against Birnie failed because Cassidy’s own negligence caused the deprivation, so no hearing was necessary. Cassidy appeals only the second ruling. We affirm.

This dispute centers on Cassidy’s rights to a mooring slip at Honokohau Small Boat Harbor, Hawaii, where he had moored his recreational vessel since 1979. The State of Hawaii, Department of Transportation, Harbors Division administered the facility, and Ian Birnie was the harbor master and state official in charge at Honokohau. Cassidy’s mooring…