LIHUE — A federal judge on Monday granted a Kauai councilman’s request to dismiss a civil suit that claimed he was the target of illegal prosecution by the county over zoning law violations. With an undisclosed settlement already reached in
LIHUE — A federal judge on Monday granted a Kauai councilman’s request to dismiss a civil suit that claimed he was the target of illegal prosecution by the county over zoning law violations.
With an undisclosed settlement already reached in a civil suit against the county in January, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled against one defendant who refused to sign the agreement in hopes the suit would go to trial. Monday’s ruling is the final step that allows Councilman Tim Bynum to withdrawn his suit from U.S. District Court.
Bynum filed the suit on Sept. 19, 2012. Along with the county, former county prosecuting attorney Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho, and Sheilah Miyake, a county supervising planning inspector, were named as defendants both individually and in their professional capacities.
Six weeks before trial, the county agreed to an undisclosed settlement offer from Bynum. Miyake also agreed but Iseri-Carvalho refused in her personal capacity and requested a jury trial.
On Monday, the judge said there wasn’t any exceptional circumstances to show that Bynum’s claims against Iseri-Carvalho were “frivolous, unreasonable, or groundless.”
Therefore, the judge ruled, nothing showed that Iseri-Carvalho would prevail at trial or regain standing in the public eye should the case go forward. The judge granted Bynum’s motion to dismiss charges with prejudice and drop the case.
Bynum, first elected in 2006, said the court’s decision was a “slam-dunk” conclusion to the matter. He said it shows that his claims were not frivolous or unreasonable.
“Ms. Iseri-Carvalho wanted to keep the case alive in an attempt to recover attorneys fees and to have her day in court to clear her name,” Bynum said by phone on Monday. “The court heard all of the arguments for the defendant and ruled that she was not injured by me beyond credibility.”
Iseri-Carvalho’s attorney, Richard Wilson, said by phone on Tuesday that the settlement is actually an admission that Bynum did not have a case. In his 23 years of civil litigation practice, Wilson said it was the first time he recalled that a plaintiff, claiming to have such a strong case, would settle so close to trial.
“The judge doesn’t have discretion, and if the plaintiff wants to pull anchor and run, then the court can’t make that plaintiff come to trial,” Wilson said.
Neither Wilson nor Iseri-Carvalho were privy to the settlement discussions and said they are not aware of any terms or conditions. As far as they knew, the County Council considered this a defensible case and the settlement seems to run contrary to what they anticipated, Wilson added.
Kauai Council Chairman Jay Furfaro said the county is looking forward to putting the complicated ordeal behind it. The settlement was agreed to by Iseri-Carvalho in her professional capacity, but not her personal capacity, before the judge dismissed the case.
“Under the terms of our insurance policy, the insurance company had the right to settle without the council’s approval,” he wrote in a statement. “The council feels in general, that this has been a difficult issue for all of us. It will be good to move forward for the mutual benefit of the county, so that we can deal with other critical issues that we now face.”
Iseri-Carvalho was an elected council member in 2007, and served for a year with Bynum before she was elected prosecutor in 2008. She issued a statement calling the lawsuit “a political smear” against her in the press and was disappointed that the case will not be tried in court.
“Rather than facing me in court which is what he said he would do, he (Bynum) practically begged the federal judge to dismiss all of his claims against me six weeks before trial,” Iseri-Carvalho said.
Iseri-Carvalho lost her bid for re-election in 2012. Miyake remains employed with the county as a Planning Inspector III.
Bynum’s suit claimed that misdemeanor zoning violation charges regarding second kitchens and dwelling ordinance violations on his personal property were not supported by probable cause. The four-term elected official charged the county with violation of rights and tortuous interference with prospective economic advantage for the zoning charges.
“The case speaks for itself,” Bynum said.
Iseri-Carvalho contacted the county Planning Department regarding an alleged complaint. Bynum claimed that compliance inspections were carried out without permission and in violation of regulations.
The charges came 19 months after a prosecutor’s investigation and Bynum claims the charges maligned him at the start of an election cycle.
Misdemeanor charges were filed against Bynum, alleging that he violated the county code by operating a multi-family dwelling on agriculturally zoned property without a permit. Bynum quickly asserted that he was a target had his case moved from district to circuit court for a jury trial.
Judge Kathleen Watanabe recused the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney from the case and sent it to the state Attorney General in 2012. A month later, she dismissed the matter after a deputy attorney general said the case would not survive a defense motion to suppress evidence.
