West Sunset 32 Phase 1, LLC v. County of Kaua'i Planning Commission, CAAP-22-0000110

Charles Somers (West Sunset 32 Phase I, LLC, etc.) sought to intervene in a permit application process before the Kauaʻi Planning Commission regarding land use sought by Michael Kaplan.
Somers’s first petition to intervene in the administrative proceeding was denied; he did not immediately appeal that denial.
The Planning Commission subsequently denied Kaplan’s permit application, but Kaplan appealed (First Agency Appeal) while settlement negotiations occurred.
A conditional settlement was reached, contingent on Planning Commission approval, before the First Agency Appeal was dismissed.
The Planning Commission approved both the settlement and Kaplan’s permit application while the First Agency Appeal was still pending in the circuit court.
Somers filed a second agency appeal (the subject of this opinion), but the circuit court dismissed it for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, prompting this appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the circuit court had jurisdiction to review the Planning Commission's denial of Somers's first petition to intervene	Circuit court erred in deciding it had no jurisdiction since Somers could appeal the intervention denial after final order	Jurisdiction was lacking because Somers did not timely appeal the denial	Error; Denial was a final appealable order and could be reviewed with later final judgment
Whether Planning Commission could approve the settlement and permits while the First Agency Appeal was pending	Approval was improper as the appeal divested commission of jurisdiction	Commission's approval was in aid of appeal and permissible	Such actions can be considered "in aid of the appeal," but the appropriateness should be reviewed on remand
Whether the circuit court’s order dismissing the agency appeal was correct	Circuit court wrongly concluded it could not review merits due to Somers’s party status	Lack of jurisdiction due to non-party status	Error; court should have reviewed merits as Somers became aggrieved upon final order
Whether Somers's failure to appeal denial of intervention immediately barred review	Somers could still seek review later as allowed by Hawaiʻi law	Review is precluded by lack of immediate appeal	Error; failure to appeal immediately does not bar subsequent review

State v. Ontiveros, [citation="82 Hawai'i 446"] (trial court loses jurisdiction over appealed case upon notice of appeal)
Richardson v. Sport Shinko (Waikiki Corp.), [citation="76 Hawai'i 494"] (transfer of jurisdiction from trial court to appellate court avoids confusion)
MDG Supply v. Diversified Investments, Inc., 51 Haw. 375 (retention of jurisdiction for collateral/incidental matters)
Hoopai v. Civ. Serv. Comm'n, [citation="106 Hawai'i 205"] (denial of intervention is a final appealable order)
In re Haw. Gov't Emps.' Ass'n, Loc. 152, 63 Haw. 85 (denial of intervention at agency level is final for purposes of appeal)
Diamond v. Dobbin, [citation="132 Hawai'i 9"] (review of collateral order available after final judgment)