HRS § 232-5 — Small claims


§232-5 Small claims. (a) The tax
appeal court shall establish by rule a small claims procedure that, to the
greatest extent practicable, shall be informal; provided that:
(1) No pretrial discovery shall be allowed without
the prior written approval of the court; and
(2) Costs and fees awarded to the prevailing party
shall be limited to fees paid directly to the court in the course of conducting
the tax appeal at issue.
(b) Any protesting taxpayer who would incur a
total tax liability, not including penalties and interest, of less than $1,000,
by reason of the protested assessment or payment in question, may elect to
employ the procedure established by this section upon:
(1) Payment per taxpayer of a nonrefundable filing
fee set pursuant to rules adopted by the supreme court, which shall not exceed
$25; and
(2) Filing with the tax appeal court a written
statement of the facts in the case, together with a waiver of the right to
further appeal.
The tax appeal court shall cause a notice of the
appeal and a copy of the statement to be served on the director of taxation in
the case of an appeal involving the department of taxation, or on the real
property assessment division of the county involved in the case of an appeal
involving the county, or upon both the director of taxation and the real
property assessment division of the county involved in the case of an appeal
involving both the department of taxation and the county.