Potter v. Hawaii Newspaper Agency2/19/1999
all make such further investigation as deemed necessary and render a decision within sixty days after the Conclusion of the hearing awarding or denying compensation, stating the findings of fact and Conclusions of law. (Emphasis added[.]) Obviously, the filing of a claim is a condition precedent before the director can initiate the necessary investigation and render a decision in a compensation case. Here, no such claim for compensation has ever been filed." See also Leinaala G. Kekauoha v. Sears, Roebuck and Company, Case No. AB 90-26(M) (7-89-06232). "I note that Claimant-Appellee has elected to file a tort action in the Circuit Court. As such, the Employer-Appellant's recourse should have been exercised in, and determined by, that court. I do not believe that Employer-Appellant should be allowed to shield itself from the pending tort action by utilizing the mechanism of the workers' compensation law regardless of the nature of the case."
Potter's timely appeal to this court followed.
II STANDARDS OF REVIEW
A. Interpretation Of A Statute
" he interpretation of a statute . . . is a question of law reviewable de novo." State v. Arceo, 84 Hawaii 1, 10, 928 P.2d 843, 852 (1996) (quoting State v. Camara, 81 Hawaii 324, 329, 916 P.2d 1225, 1230 (1996) (citations omitted)). See also State v. Toyomura, 80 Hawaii 8, 18, 904 P.2d 893, 903 (1995); State v. Higa, 79 Hawaii 1, 3, 897 P.2d 928, 930, reconsideration denied, 79 Hawaii 341, 902 P.2d 976 (1995); State v. Nakata, 76 Hawaii 360, 365, 878 P.2d 669, 704, reconsideration denied, 76 Hawaii 453, 879 P.2d 556 (1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1147, 115 S.Ct. 1095, 130 L.Ed.2d 1063 (1995).
Gray v. Administrative Director of the Court, 84 Hawaii 138, 144, 931 P.2d 580, 586 (1997) (some brackets added and some in original). See also State v. Soto, 84 Hawaii 229, 236, 933 P.2d 66, 73 (1997). Furthermore, our statutory construction is guided by established rules:
"When construing a statute, our foremost obligation is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature, which is to be obtained primarily from the language contained in the statute itself. And we must read statutory language in the context of the entire statute and construe it in a manner consistent with its purpose. "When there is doubt, doubleness of meaning, or indistinctiveness or uncertainty of an expression used in a statute, an ambiguity exists. . . . "In construing an ambiguous statute, " he meaning of the ambiguous words may be sought by examining the context, with which the ambiguous words, phrases, and sentences may be compared, in order to ascertain their true meaning." HRS § 1-15(1) [(1993)]. Moreover, the courts may resort to extrinsic aids in determining legislative intent. One avenue is the use of legislative history as an interpretive tool." Gray, 84 Hawaii at 148, 931 P.2d at 590 (quoting State v. Toyomura, 80 Hawaii 8, 18-19, 904 P.2d 893, 903-04 (1995)) (brackets and ellipsis points in original) (footnote omitted). This court may also consider " he reason and spirit of the law, and the cause which induced the legislature to enact it . . . to discover its true meaning." HRS § 1-15(2) (1993). "Laws in pari materia, or upon the same subject matter, shall be construed with reference to each other. What is clear in one statute may be called upon in aid to explain what is doubtful in another." HRS § 1-16 (1993). Ho v. Leftwich, 88 Hawaii 251, 256-57, 965 P.2d 793, 798-99 (1998) (quoting Korean Buddhist Dae Won Sa Temple v. Sullivan, 87 Hawaii 217, 229-30, 953 P.2d 1315, 1327-28 (1998)).
B. Review Of An Agency Decision
Review of a decision made by the circuit court upon its review of an ag
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