24 Haw. 672 | Haw. | 1919
OPINION OF THE COURT BY
The petitioner, plaintiff in error, Frank G. Correa, in 1916 filed his application in the land court of the Territory of Hawaii to register and confirm title in himself to a tract of land situated at Omaopio, Kula, County of Maui. At the time the petition was heard in the land court the defendants in error, David Kapiioho, Sarah Keawe and Apo Liilii were the only persons who appeared and contested the application. At the conclusion of the trial a decision was rendered by the judge of the land court finding that the petitioner had a good title in fee simple to the lands
The cause is brought to this court by the petitioner on a writ of error and we are first confronted with the motion presented by the petitioner in the circuit court to dismiss the appeal of the three named contestants. It follows as a matter of course that if the appeal from the land court to the circuit court was not perfected as required by the mandatory provisions of the statute the motion to dismiss should have been granted and the subsequent proceedings had in the circuit court are null and void for the reason that the circuit court was devoid of jurisdiction. We cannot ascertain with any degree of certainty from the records transmitted to the circuit court from the land court the date upon which the issues were framed nor just when the record reached the circuit court, but in the oral presentation of the matter before us counsel for the respondents admitted that the issues were not framed in the land court within thirty days after the date of the decree, it being
The cause is remanded to the circuit court with instruc