HB 981 Hawaii House · 2026 Regular Session

RELATING TO ATTORNEYS' FEES.

Summary

Limits the accrued attorneys' fees and costs in matters relating to, or actions brought as a result of, construction defects to twenty-five per cent of the recovery amount. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD1)

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Jan 21, 2025 Last action Dec 8, 2025

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What changed between versions

HB981 → HB981_HD1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify that it limits both attorney's fees and costs, not just fees. The core policy shift is that the limit is now a fixed 25% cap on the recovery amount rather than a minimum guarantee that the plaintiff receives 90% of repair costs. This change alters the financial outcome for plaintiffs by removing the guarantee that their settlement will cover the full cost of repairs, while simultaneously allowing attorneys to claim up to 25% of the total settlement.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to explicitly include 'costs' alongside 'attorneys' fees' in both settlement agreements and court actions.

REQUIREMENT

Changed the fee limit from a requirement that plaintiffs receive at least 90% of repair costs to a cap where attorneys can take up to 25% of the total recovery amount.

Added 'costs' to the list of expenses subject to the 25% limitation, whereas the original text only mentioned attorneys' fees.

TIMELINE

Updated the effective date of the Act to July 1, 3000.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 11, 2025

Committee

Reported from CPC (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 429) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to JHA.

lower

Feb 5, 2025

Lower · Passed

The committee on CPC recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 10 Ayes: Representative(s) Matayoshi, Chun, Ilagan, Ichiyama, Iwamoto, Kong, Lowen, Marten, Tam, Pierick; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 0 Excused: none.

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Committee

Referred to CPC, JHA, referral sheet 3

lower

Jan 23, 2025

Introduced

Introduced and Pass First Reading.

lower

Jan 21, 2025

Introduced

Pending introduction.

lower

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors