State of Hawaii v. Stone, et al

Filing 131

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT re 126 - Signed by JUDGE DERRICK K. WATSON on 1/7/2021. (emt, )

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF HAWAI‘I
STATE OF HAWAI‘I, by its Office of
Consumer Protection,

Case No. 19-cv-00272-DKW-RT

Plaintiff,
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR ENTRY OF FINAL
JUDGMENT

vs.
ROBERT L. STONE, doing business
as GAH Law Group, LLC,
Defendant.

Plaintiff State of Hawai‘i, through its Office of Consumer Protection (OCP),
moves for entry of final judgment (“motion”) in this case after a number of
dispositive-motion orders issued by the Court. Together, these orders granted
OCP much, though not all, of the relief it sought and dismissed Defendant Robert
L. Stone’s counterclaims. Dkt. No. 126. Although the briefing deadlines on the
motion, see Dkt. No. 127, have now passed, no further briefing beyond the motion
itself has been submitted by any party. In this light, and following review of the
motion, the Court GRANTS the motion for entry of final judgment, as set forth
herein.

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Resolved Claims
Between the Court’s orders of April 2, 2020 and October 14, 2020, the
following claims have been resolved in favor of OCP: Claim One; Claim Four;
Claim Five; Claim Eight; Claim Three, solely as to Mr. & Mrs. DeShaw, Mr.
Baliguat, Mr. & Mrs. Watson, Mr. & Mrs. Tyrell, Mr. & Mrs. Iosefa, Mr. & Mrs.
Abing, Mr. & Mrs. Dicion, and Mr. & Mrs. Galang; and Claim Seven, solely as to
Mr. Domingo. Therefore, the Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favor of OCP
with respect to the above-mentioned claims, pursuant to this Order and the Orders
of April 2, 2020 (Dkt. No. 77) and October 14, 2020 (Dkt. No. 114).
Pursuant to the Court’s order of October 8, 2019, all of Stone’s
counterclaims have also been resolved in favor of OCP. Therefore, the Clerk is
directed to enter judgment in favor of OCP with respect to Stone’s counterclaims,
pursuant to this Order and the October 8, 2019 Order (Dkt. No. 47).
Unresolved Claims
At this juncture in the case, the only claims that have not been resolved in
OCP’s favor or dismissed are: Claim Three, solely as to Mr. & Mrs. Cabral, Mr. &
Mrs. Afuvai, Mr. Domingo, Mrs. Rodil, Mrs. Danielson, Mr. Moore, Mrs.
Moseley, Dr. & Mrs. Dimitrion, and Mr. & Mrs. Harrell; and Claim Seven as it
pertains to all of Stone’s clients other than Mr. Domingo. In the motion, OCP

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requests that these claims be voluntarily dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 41(a)(2). Dkt. No. 126-1 at 6-7. The Court GRANTS this
request and DISMISSES the above-mentioned claims WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
Dismissal is without prejudice not only because Stone has failed to oppose OCP’s
request for dismissal,1 but also because Rule 41(a)(2) presumes dismissal without
prejudice. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(a)(2).
Disgorgement
In the October 14, 2020 Order, the Court ordered $1,743.40 to be disgorged
from Stone, while declining to address whether any further amounts would be
disgorged, pending decisions by Stone’s clients to receive restitution to which they
were entitled. Dkt. No. 114 at 26-28 & n.16. In the motion, OCP reports that the
election period for Stone’s clients has come and gone, with certain of the clients
declining to receive restitution. Dkt. No. 126-1 at 8. OCP, therefore, now
requests that, for the clients declining restitution, an order of disgorgement be
entered for the amounts to which those clients were entitled as restitution. Id.
In light of the discussion on disgorgement in the October 14, 2020 Order,
Dkt. No. 114 at 26-27, the Court agrees that OCP is entitled to further

1

Something which is entirely consistent with Stone’s litigation tactics throughout this case, as he
has failed to oppose either of OCP’s motions for summary judgment. See Dkt. No. 77 at 3; Dkt.
No. 114 at 3.
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disgorgement and, thus, GRANTS this request. Principally, as previously
discussed, Section 487-13(c) of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes prohibits Stone from
recovering amounts while he is unregistered to do business in Hawai‘i. Id.
Because it is undisputed that Stone failed to register to do business in this State
during the relevant period of time, id. at 18-19, OCP is, therefore, entitled to
disgorge the amounts Stone impermissibly obtained by doing business here. In
total, that amount is: $257,122.00, which is the additional amount the Court orders
disgorged from Stone. 2
Additional Remedies
As OCP requests in the motion, Dkt. No. 126-1 at 8, to the extent any
sought-after remedies remain unresolved following the various dispositive-motion
orders in this case, those remedies are deemed withdrawn.
Conclusion
The motion for entry of final judgment, Dkt. No. 126, is GRANTED. The
Clerk is directed to enter final judgment forthwith, pursuant to this Order, the

2

As set forth in the October 14, 2020 Order, that total amount breaks down as follows: Mr. &
Mrs. Abing – $10,745; Mr. Baliguat – $27,000; Mr. & Mrs. Cabral – $28,000; Mrs. Danielson –
$3,500; Mr. & Mrs. DeShaw – $34,016; Mr. & Mrs. Dicion – $26,000; Dr. & Mrs. Dimitrion –
$5,235.60; Mr. Domingo – $21,900; Mr. & Mrs. Galang – $12,500; Mr. & Mrs. Harrell – $500;
Mr. & Mrs. Iosefa – $28,500; Mr. Moore – $1,000; Mrs. Rodil – $13,800; Mr. & Mrs. Tyrell –
$32,500; Mr. & Mrs. Watson – $16,561; Mr. & Mrs. Rush – $24,000. Dkt. No. 114 at 26 n.14.
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October 8, 2019 Order (Dkt. No. 47), the April 2, 2020 Order (Dkt. No. 77), and
the October 14, 2020 Order (Dkt. No. 114).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 7, 2021 at Honolulu, Hawai‘i.

De~
United States District Judge

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