{"id":2662,"date":"2026-07-16T07:04:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662"},"modified":"2026-07-16T07:04:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:04:47","slug":"oha-asks-court-to-strike-minority-trustees-filing-in-ceo-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662","title":{"rendered":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is asking Circuit Court to strike a filing submitted by four minority trustees that claims CEO Stacy Ferreira \u2014 currently on paid leave \u2014 was retaliated against and is owed damages from her lawsuit against the agency.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-officer seeks taxpayer-funded defense in DUI class-action suit<\/a><\/p>\n

Minority trustees refuse to withdraw filing<\/h2>\n

The four minority trustees are refusing to withdraw the court filing following a clash at last week\u2019s OHA board meeting. The filing states that OHA Chair Kaiali\u2019i Kahele and other trustees retaliated against Ferreira.<\/p>\n

Trustee Keli\u02bbi Akina, one of the four minority trustees, said the board\u2019s actions warranted speaking out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some things that are potentially violations of law, abuse of power, things taking place condoned by the chair and the majority on the board that are bringing harm to individuals and to the beneficiaries and the people of OHA,\u201d Akina said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t speak out, we\u2019d be violating our own fiduciary duty.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Akina also said the minority trustees acted carefully in submitting the filing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve taken pains not to violate the Sunshine Law,\u201d Akina said. \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily know where other trustees stand until I see it in writing in court.\u201d<\/p>\n

OHA responds, cites legal risk<\/h2>\n

OHA responded with separate statements from the chair, vice chair, interim CEO, board counsel and litigation attorney. <\/p>\n

Read more City in final negotiations to bring giant pandas to Honolulu Zoo<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe filing submitted by the four trustees endangers the agency and its beneficiaries,\u201d said Joseph Adams, partner, Dentons, litigation counsel for The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe immediate consequences are not only the possibility of a Sunshine Law violation but also the risk that an unauthorized filing could be treated as OHA\u2019s official legal position,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

Former CEO weighs in on board division<\/h2>\n

Former OHA CEO Kamana\u02bbopono Crabbe, who navigated his own leadership clashes and board division during his tenure, said the agency needs stable leadership at all levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s never good for the integrity of the organization when the board is divided, especially on a personnel issue,\u201d Crabbe said. \u201cThis really distracts from the great work that the staff is doing. Irregardless, it should be handled in a manner that protects the trust assets of the organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Interim CEO Summer Sylva said in a statement in part: \u201cOHA will continue to address employment matters responsibly, lawfully, and with integrity… we remain focused on the mission entrusted to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Hauula Elementary students name Hawaiian monk seal pup<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is asking Circuit Court to strike a filing by four minority trustees that claims CEO Stacy Ferreira was retaliated against and is owed damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nOHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is asking Circuit Court to strike a filing by four minority trustees that claims CEO Stacy Ferreira was retaliated against and is owed damages.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662\"},\"wordCount\":444,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662\",\"name\":\"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=2662#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hawaii Moving Insider\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider","og_description":"The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is asking Circuit Court to strike a filing by four minority trustees that claims CEO Stacy Ferreira was retaliated against and is owed damages.","og_url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662","og_site_name":"Hawaii Moving Insider","article_published_time":"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0"},"headline":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit","datePublished":"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662"},"wordCount":444,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662","name":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit - Hawaii Moving Insider","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif","datePublished":"2026-07-16T07:04:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4c36d357271f01ad69bb1e5d947b8f04.avif","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=2662#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"OHA asks court to strike minority trustees\u2019 filing in CEO lawsuit"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/","name":"Hawaii Moving Insider","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/#\/schema\/person\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com"],"url":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}