The high-stakes dispute between the Honolulu rail authority and one of its most important contractors escalated again this week as the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation filed a new claim alleging Hitachi Rail Honolulu JV made false statements in its multimillion-dollar lawsuit against HART.
The HART counterclaim accuses Hitachi of breach of contract and violations of Hawaiʻi's False Claims Act, which allows for triple damages when claims against a county are based on "false or fraudulent" demands for payment.
Hitachi sued HART last month seeking more than $320 million in compensation for construction delays on the rail project, which is currently running more than a decade behind schedule. The Hitachi lawsuit blames project delays on mismanagement by HART.
HART alleges in its counterclaim filed Wednesday that it is entitled to monetary damages for delays and errors caused by Hitachi.
Hitachi is one of the most important Honolulu rail contractors, and is responsible for installing, operating and maintaining the control and power systems and other functions for the $10 billion, 18.9-mile Skyline system.
David Minkin, a lawyer who is representing Hitachi in its lawsuit against HART, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Hitachi has been pressing HART to resolve its claims since early 2023 and sued the city over rail project delays late last year. But that lawsuit was dismissed in August after a Honolulu Circuit Court judge ruled Hitachi failed to...
An appellate court has shut the door on reviewing the constitutionality of the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act (FCA), although two other appellate courts are reviewing this issue, with ...