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2013 American Samoa Slip Opinions

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2013 American Samoa Slip Opinions AMERICAN SAMOA SLIP OPINIONS 2013 Decisions Covering Certain Opinions From the Divisions of the High Court of American Samoa From January to December 2013 Collected and Disseminated by the High Court of American Samoa Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 Edited by: Jon Clemens, Staff Attorney Lisa Yun, Law Clerk Brian George, Law Clerk Zachary Berne, Law Clerk Kelly Davis, Law Clerk July 11, 2014 As part of an ongoing effort to keep the local bar current with court decisions, the High Court of American Samoa selected and disseminated a number of decisions that it issued in 2013. The Court selected only those decisions that contributed to the development of law in the Territory. The decisions selected for this slip opinion compilation are from the Appellate Division, Trial Division, Land and Titles Division, and Family Drug and Alcohol Division. However, the Court has also included a supplemental section containing two decisions filed in 2012 that are missing from both sets of the 2012 Slip Opinions. Bear in mind, some of the lower court orders and opinions may yet be appealed. Consequently, attorneys cite the contained lower court decisions at their own peril. The formatting style for the 2013 Slip Opinions follows the style used in the second set of the 2012 Slip Opinions. The format closely matches the American Samoa Reports. The purpose for such conformity is strictly internal—to simplify the process for editing and formatting the slip opinions when they are eventually published in the American Samoa Reports. Considering that citing to slip opinions may be new for some members of the bar, there is a gray box preceding every slip opinion indicating how that slip opinion ought to be cited. Moreover, the headnotes are pin-cited. This should make the transition to slip opinion citation more endurable. More slip opinion compilations like these may appear in the near future while we wait on the publication of the American Samoa Reports. The slip opinions are organized by court division and are listed in chronological order within the court division grouping. There are no page numbers in this volume. All of the page numbers on the individual slip opinions are indicated by bracketed and starred numbers, e.g., “[**2**].” The numbers in each individual slip opinion correspond to the numbers on the physical orders and opinions filed with the Clerk of Courts. Please take note, the slip opinions that appear herein are not official published versions of those orders and opinions. Readers are directed to the American Samoa Reports for official published versions of the High Court’s orders and opinions. TABLE OF CONTENTS Appellate Division Am. Samoa Veterans Ass’n v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 08-11 (App. Div. Jan. 4, 2013) Faumuina v. Fraser, AP No. 13-10 (App. Div. Jan. 14, 2013)(order den. pet. for reh’g) Masui v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 19-10 (App. Div. Jan. 16, 2013) Wall v. Governor, AP No. 09-08 (App. Div. Jan. 18, 2013) Am. Samoa Veterans Ass’n v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 01-12 (App. Div. Mar. 12, 2013) Pago Pago Yacht Club v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 04-12 (App. Div. Apr. 24, 2013) Agasiva v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 06-12 (App. Div. July 11, 2013) Ava v. Corp. of Presiding Bishop, AP No. 10-11 (App. Div. Aug. 5, 2013) Leautu v. Nu`utai, AP No. 11-11 (App. Div. Aug. 7, 2013) Tamaseu Distrib. v. Am. Samoa Gov’t,, AP No. 03-12 (App. Div. Aug. 22, 2013) Segi v. Am.Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 07-12 (App. Div. Aug. 22, 2013) Trial Division Leota v. Dawn, CA No. 16-12 (Trial Div. Jan. 2, 2013) (order on pl.’s mot. for protective order) Fa’asala v. O’Brien, CA No. 08-11 (Trial Div. Jan. 15, 2013)(order dism’l with prej.) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Ioramo, CR No. 49-12 (Trial Div. Jan. 23, 2013)(order grant. def.'s mot. to suppress test.) Faletogo v. Pese, CA No. 54-12 (Trial Div. Jan. 29, 2013) Brunt v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, CA No. 107-07 (Trial Div. Feb. 1, 2013) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Siaumau, CR No. 53-09 (Trial Div. Feb. 11, 2013)(order den. mot. for recon.) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Tinitali, CA No. 35-12 (Trial Div. Mar. 13, 2013)(order on mot. for stay pending rev.) Kepaoa Dev. Corp. v. Stevensons Trucking, Inc., CA No. 18-09 (Trial Div. Mar. 20, 2013)(order grant. def.’s mot. for summ. j.) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Galea’i, CR No. 54-12 (Trial Div. Mar. 20, 2013)(order den. def.’s mot. to dismiss count two) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Ripley, CR Nos. 117-09 & 119-09 (Trial Div. May 7, 2013)(order den. jt. mot. to dismiss) Pulu v. Nat’l Pac. Ins. Co., Ltd., CA No. 27-11 (Trial Div. May 10, 2013) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Tinitali, CA No. 35-12 (Trial Div. May 14, 2013)(order den. mot. to dismiss) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Barlow, CR No. 26-12 (Trial Div. May 30, 2013)(order den. def.’s mot. to dismiss) Sene v. Molinga, CA No. 13-13 (Trial Div. July 8, 2013) Togiai v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., CA No. 101-06 (Trial Div. July 24, 2013)(order den. def.’s mot. to dismiss but imposing sanctions) Ala’ilima, et al. v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, et al., CA No. 22-09 (Trial Div. Aug. 15, 2013) Pulu v. Nat’l Pac. Ins. Co., Ltd., CA No. 27-11 (Trial Div. Aug. 15, 2013)(order den. mot. for recon.) Notoa v. Am. Samoa Power Auth., CA No. 81-06 (Trial Div. Sep. 10, 2013) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Malae, CR No. 100-13 (Trial Div. Oct. 22, 2013)(order den. def.’s mot. for bill of particulars and mot.. to sever) Land and Titles Division Ioapo v. Aviata, MT No. 02-02 (Land & Titles Div. Jan. 15, 2013)(order on mot. to intervene) Loloaso v. Satala Land Trust., LT No. 9-11 (Land & Titles Div. Feb. 1, 2013) Amani v. Ta’amu, MT No. 01-12 (Land & Titles Div. Feb. 7, 2013) Schuster, v. Afoa, LT No. 20-07 (Land & Titles Div. Apr. 3, 2013)(order den. pl.’s mot. for recon. or new trial) Amani v. Ta’amu, MT No. 01-12 (Land & Titles Div. Apr. 29, 2013)(order den. mot. for new trial) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Avamua, LT No. 10-08 (Land & Titles Div. May 1, 2013) Hunkin v. Mapu, MT No. 06-01 (Land & Titles Div. May 3, 2013) Iuli v. Poloa, MT No. 02-12 (Land & Titles Div. May 7, 2013) Steffany v. Saulo, LT No. 03-10 (Land & Titles Div. June 27, 2013) Estate of Lefaga Beaver v. Territorial Registrar, LT No. 02-09 (Land & Titles Div. July 19, 2013)(order grant. in pt. and den. in pt. parties’ several mots. for summ. j.) Am. Samoa Gov’t v. Avamua, LT No. 10-08 (Land & Titles Div. July 22, 2013)(order on mot. for new trial) In re Estate of Ah Hing, LT Nos. 21-11 & 22-11 (Land & Titles Div. July 22, 2013) Atofa’i v. Fau, LT No. 35-81 (Land & Titles Div. July 23, 2013)(order den. pl.’s mot. to rescind and dismiss and defer ruling, and on def.’s mot. to den. just comp.) Alai’asa v. Fa’aolataga, MT No. 06-12 (Land & Titles Div. Sep. 9, 2013)(order dismiss. action for lack of juris. without prej.) Ioapo v. Aviata, MT No. 02-02 (Land & Titles Div. Oct. 16, 2013) Estate of Lefaga Beaver v. Territorial Registrar, LT No. 02-09 (Land & Titles Div. Oct. 29, 2013)(order den. def’s. mot. for recon.) Family Drug and Alcohol Division In Re a Minor Child, FDAJR No. 40-12 and 58-12 (Fam. Drug & Alcohol Div. May 28, 2013) Supplemental—2012 Slip Opinions Fa’asala v. O’Brien, CA No. 08-11 (Trial Div. Feb. 21, 2012)(order grant. def. mot. compel) Ripley v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, CA No. 12-08 (Trial Div. July 3, 2012)(order den. mot. summ. j.) SLIP OPINIONS OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION OF THE HIGH COURT OF AMERICAN SAMOA (2013) Cite As: Am. Samoa Veterans Ass’n v. Am. Samoa Gov’t, AP No. 08-11, slip op. at [page number] (App. Div. Jan. 4, 2013) AMERICAN SAMOA VETERANS ASSOCIATION, Appellant, v. AMERICAN SAMOA GOVERNEMENT, Appellee. The High Court of American Samoa Appellate Division AP No. 08-11 January 4 2013 [1] The Appellate Division reviews questions of law de novo. [2] The Land and Titles Division of the High Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all controversies relating to land. [3] The Trial Division has jurisdiction over all proceedings to recover possession of premises. [4] Any case in the High Court may, in the interests of justice and for the conveniences of the parties, be transferred by order of the Chief Justice or Associate Justice to any court in which it might have been brought originally. [5] When a summons is mislabeled with the wrong division case caption is a harmless or clerical error, or both, the remedy is to correct the errant case caption, not dismiss the underlying action. [6] Arbitration provision of an expired contract did not apply where there was no indication that the parties intended for the provision to apply after expiration of the contract. [7] Res judicata bars the relitigation of legal and factual issues that were settled between the same parties in a prior litigation.
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