Hawaii ex rel. Attorney General v. Federal Emergency Management Agency

Hurricane Iniki stormed over the Hawaiian island of Kauai a decade ago, but a dispute it left behind continues. The largest disaster ever to hit the state of Hawaii (“Hawaii”), the 1992 hurricane caused an estimated $2.6 billion in damage.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (“FEMA” or “the Agency”), the agency of the federal government that provides dollars to communities afflicted by floods, earthquakes, fires, and hurricanes, provided substantial assistance to the state. Hawaii’s insurers, in a settlement with the state, did so as well. For the most part, the federal Agency and the private insurance companies distributed their dollars to different projects. But in the case of the repair of sixteen state facilities, including institutions such as the Hanalei Elementary School and the Sam Mahelona Hospital (“the disputed repairs”), the aid overlapped.

Under federal disaster relief law, the federal government is essentially a last resort provider of disaster relief. Disaster victims cannot retain FEMA funds when another party provides the same relief. Pursuant to the preclusion of duplicative relief, Hawaii reimbursed FEMA for all the insurance proceeds from its settlement…