Authored by: Elizabeth Kapamas
Hawaii Gov. David Ige says the state has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by 2,700 Native Hawaiians for $328 million, according to Audrey McAvoy of Associated Press. The native Hawaiians were placed on a waitlist to receive homestead leases.
Approximately 28,00 Hawaiian people are on a waitlist to receive awarded leases since The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 was created to provide rehabilitation and economic independence to Hawaiians by supplying land.
A law passed in 1991 gave Native Hawaiians the right to seek compensation for losses incurred during the waiting period for a homestead lease from 1959 to 1988. Despite establishing a panel to handle claims, the panel didn't operate past its expiration date in 1999. As a result, plaintiffs filed suit.
Read more information here in McAvoy's article on MSN.