DHHL sued over evictions of non-Native Hawaiians in East Kauai project

News admin July 28, 2026 0 Comments

DHHL sued over evictions of non-Native Hawaiians in East Kauai project

WAIPOULI (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands is facing another lawsuit. This time it stems over the eviction of residents from an East Kauai complex who don’t meet blood quantum requirements.

In late 2025, the department completed its $44.5 million purchase of the Courtyards at Waipouli Apartments.

The plan was to offer 82 family units to Kauai beneficiaries with the option to own in the long-term. The area would be renamed Aina Ho’opulapula O Waipouli.

But before that transition could happen, existing rental tenants in the privately owned complex were given notice they were being evicted.

“So going beyond just eligibility for the lease, here we have DHHL actively kicking people out of their homes solely because they lack a specific ancestry,” senior attorney at The Pacific Legal Foundation Caleb Trotter said.

Trotter is representing two current tenants, Linda Twitchell and David Kalahiki, who are each facing eviction. Kalahiki himself is a quarter Native Hawaiian, and Trotter said relocation assistance was being offered, but said options were insufficient.

“Many of those have been off of Kauai. The rents have not at all been comparable,” Trotter added.

The project has faced opposition and lawsuits in the past from other tenants also fighting eviction.

We reached out to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands for comment, however they were unable to provide one Monday. They say they are working on a response.

Meanwhile, a TRO request to pause evictions was also filed to buy tenants more time as the lawsuit takes shape.

“What DHHL is doing now, in buying property, private property, and kicking people out, that is beyond the law, in addition to being blatantly unconstitutional and just morally wrong,” Trotter said.

The Pacific Legal Foundation is the same law firm behind a broader suit filed on behalf of Eric Ryan, claiming blood quantum requirements are unconstitutional, despite the congressionally approved Hawaiian Homes Commission act of 1920.

“I wouldn’t say that this is in any way a concerted effort by our organization to attack DHHL. What these cases represent is the defense of equality under the law in the United States of America. It is simply not allowed that one group can benefit over another based on bloodline or ancestry,” Trotter said.