Even as the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands continues its aggressive push to provide more lots to those now on a waiting list, a class-action lawsuit involving 2,700 Native Hawaiian claimants has been cleared to proceed by the Hawai'i Supreme Court. The lawsuit alleges breach of trust on the part of DHHL and involves a variety of claims from individuals and families who were on the list from 1959 through 1988.

The claims range from lengthy waits for parcels to the dissemination of wrong information to beneficiaries to problems associated with the construction of homes.

A panel was established in 1991 to review the claims but the process expired in 1999 with most of the issues still unresolved. While the Legislature passed a bill that extended the process, it was vetoed by then-Gov. Ben Cayetano.

Leona Kalima, one of the lawsuit's named claimants, said then-candidate Linda Lingle promised to resolve the issue but has not done so as governor.

"We're not too pleased with what we were promised and what we're still fighting for," Kalima said. There isn't much time for some of the claimants, she said. "They're waiting, they're dying," she said.

Tom Grande, one of the claimant attorneys, said he's pleased the agency "is making efforts to fulfill their trust obligations in awarding homesteads." However, he said, "we think that the same efforts should be made in resolving the claims of our 2,721 class members for breaches of trust that occurred between 1959 and 1988."

Micah Kane, DHHL director, called the suit and unresolved claims "the most complex challenge" facing the agency. DHHL will work with state attorneys and legislators in resolving the situation, he said. "But there's no question that it is a priority for us to settle this issue."

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.