Hi Kai Investment v. Aloha Futons Beds & Waterbeds
Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii
929 P.2d 88 (1996)
Aloha Futons (defendant) leased commercial property from Hi Kai Investment (plaintiff) for a ten-year term under a lease requiring Aloha, upon breach, to pay the entire remaining rent for the term, offset by any income Hi Kai earned re-renting the property. After Aloha defaulted, Hi Kai brought a summary possession action seeking possession, past-due rent, and future rent damages through the lease's end; the district court granted possession and past-due rent but denied future-rent damages, reasoning Hawaii's Chapter 666 barred a landlord from recovering any damages accruing after a writ of possession issued, and Hi Kai appealed.
Whether a landlord's successful mid-lease eviction of a tenant precludes the landlord from also recovering damages for rent accruing after eviction through the end of the lease term.