Derrick K. Watson
How Judge Watson rules, drawn from 27 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
How Judge Watson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In a personal-jurisdiction dismissal, the judge required more than a generalized 'stream of commerce' theory or a hunch that discovery might turn up jurisdictional facts: the plaintiff needed to identify specific facts suggesting the defendant's contacts with Hawaii.
“A request for discovery ‘based on little more than a hunch that it might yield jurisdictionally relevant facts’ is not enough.”
Procedural preferences
When a motion to dismiss targets both a served party and unserved co-defendants, the judge declines to rule on arguments concerning the unserved parties on their behalf, denying that portion without prejudice to renewal once they appear.
“None of these individuals, however, have been served... The Court also declines to take this presumptive leap on their behalf. As a result, the Court will not further address the City’s arguments outlined above and the motion to dismiss is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE in that respect.”
The judge uses certification when an unresolved question of Hawai‘i law is determinative and controlling state precedent supplies no answer, leaving the state supreme court to resolve or reformulate the issue.
“All conditions of HRAP 13(a) are satisfied. The issues here are important questions of Hawai‘i law, determinative of the claims now before this Court, and without any answer found in controlling precedent.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the motion to dismiss, Dkt. No. 27, is GRANTED with respect to claims against the City. Dismissal is with partial leave to amend, as explained below. Further, with respect to claims against the unserved Officer Defendants, the motion to dismiss is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE to renewal should those defendants be served and appear in this action.”
“Because neither LG Chem nor LG America can be deemed ‘essentially at home’ in Hawaii, this Court cannot assert general personal jurisdiction over either. ... Accordingly, the motions to dismiss, Dkt. Nos. 23, 30, are GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff’s counter-motion for jurisdictional discovery, Dkt. No. 29, 34, is DENIED.”
“the motion to dismiss, Dkt. No. 32, is GRANTED as unopposed, and the Complaint is DISMISSED with leave for Pollitt to amend the same in order to allege ‘an enforcement action only.’”
“Chan's motion is accordingly DENIED.”
“The Petition is DISMISSED.”
“Petitioner's Request for Preliminary Injunction and Motion for Summary Judgment, based on Respondent's failure to timely answer the original Order to Show Cause and Answer, are DENIED as MOOT.”
“Ieremia has failed to show that his guilty plea was invalid, or that there is some other fair and just reason for its withdrawal, and his Motion to Withdraw his Guilty Plea, Dkt. No. 408, is DENIED.”
“The City and County of Honolulu; the Department of Planning and Permitting; Dawn Apuna, in her official capacity as Acting Director of the Department of Planning and Permitting; and all their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of this Order, hereby are enjoined from enforcing or implementing Ordinance 22-7, signed into law on April 26, 2022, insofar as it prohibits 30–89-day home rentals, or the advertisement of such rentals, in any district on O‘ahu, pending further order from this Court.”
“For the reasons set forth herein, the motion for summary judgment, Dkt. No. 10, is DENIED.”
“For the foregoing reasons, Defendant Elliot Loden's Motion for Summary Judgment on Count I, Dkt. No. 57, is DENIED.”
“Defendant's Motion to Seal Exhibits 7 and 8 of his Concise Statement of Facts, Dkt. No. 59, is GRANTED.”
“Accordingly, the motion, Dkt. No. 466, is DENIED.”
“Accordingly, this case is REMANDED to the Fifth Circuit Court for the State of Hawai‘i, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1447(c), and the Clerk of this Court is instructed to mail a certified copy of this Order to the clerk of the Fifth Circuit Court.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
The two sampled cases involved employment, personal-injury, and civil-rights matters and mostly ended by stipulated dismissal. The sample is too small to support a broader settlement or caseload claim.
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