Law office of Jerry M. Hiatt
Diligence. Insight. Creativity.

ABOUT

Mr. Jerry M. Hiatt

History

Mr. Hiatt graduated with honors from Harvard University in 1973. He received his J.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law in 1977 under a grant from the University of Hawai‘iʻs East–West Center. During Mr. Hiattʻs final year of law school, he attended Harvard Law School and was selected as an editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review. Mr. Hiatt clerked for the firm of Baker and McKenzie in Hong Kong in 1975, and then for the firm now known as Carlsmith Ball LLC in 1976. He joined the Carlsmith firm in 1977 as an associate. He became a partner with the Carlsmith firm in 1983 and assisted in directing the Real Estate and Business Litigation section of that firm, before leaving to help form Bays Deaver Hiatt Kawachika & Lezak in 1986. He founded his own firm in January 2001. Mr. Hiatt has very extensive trial, arbitration and mediation experience in a wide variety of cases representing both plaintiffs and defendants.

Experience

Mr. Hiatt has served as either a mediator or arbitrator in hundreds of complex disputes including under the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Teamsters Local 996 and Oahu Transit Services and between SHOPO and the County of Kauai. He has served as a mediator or as an arbitrator in the areas of labor, employment, construction, personal injury, real property, complex civil litigation, insurance coverage, medical and legal malpractice and class actions.

In the labor and employment arena, Mr. Hiatt has represented both management (for example, Hyatt Corporation and Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc.) and hundreds of individual plaintiffs.

In the construction area, he has handled claims for and against owners, developers, architects, contractors, insurers and bonding companies. He has a detailed working knowledge of construction insurance coverage issues under applicable law.

In the medical malpractice area, he has represented plaintiffs as well as hospitals and physicians.

Training

Mr. Hiatt has received extensive training in both mediation and arbitration, including the following courses:

2021
ACE 21 – Impartiality: Do You Know Where Your Biases Are?, 2021;

2020
ACE20 Cyber Security: A Shared Responsibility, 2020;

2019
AAA ACE19 Case Finances: What Arbitrators Need to Know, 2019;
AAA Labor Arbitrator II Workshop, 2019;

2018
ACE18 - Arbitrator Performance and Demeanor ~ Meeting Participant Expectations, 2018;
Labor Arbitrator I, 2018;

2017
AAA Arbitration and the Impact of Off-Duty Misconduct in the Union Environment, 2017;
AAA Is that Really a Direct Order? Tough Challenges with Insubordination Issues, 2017;

2016
Arbitrating a Difficult Discharge Case, 2016;

2015
AAA Best Use of Med-Arb, 2015;

2013
AAA Employment and Labor Case Law Update: What Arbitrators and Practitioners Need to Know, 2013;

2012
AAA Pro Se: Managing Cases Involving Self-Represented Parties ACE02, 2012;

2009
AAA Dealing With Delay Tactics in Arbitration ACE04, 2009;

2007
AAA Chairing an Arbitration Panel: Managing Procedures, Process & Dynamics ACE05, 2007; Pepperdine University, Advanced Mediation Continuing Education Course, 2007;

2006
AAA Arbitrator Ethics & Disclosure ACE03, 2006;

2005
AAA Arbitration Awards: Safeguarding, Deciding & Writing Awards ACE01, 2005;

2002
AAA Annual Arbitrator Update 2002;

2000
AAA Commercial Arbitrator II Training, 2002; AAA Commercial Arbitrator Training, 2000.

 

Education

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL & THE RICHARDSON SCHOOL OF LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT MANOA
Juris Doctor from Richardson School of Law in 1977

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
B.A, 1973

Recogniton

MARTINDALE-HUBBEL LEGAL DIRECTORY
Rated "Av"

BEST LAWYERS IN AMERICA PUBLICATION
Included each year from 1994 - present.

AMERICAN BOARD OF TRIAL ADVOCATES
Retired member.

NATIONAL BOARD OF LEGAL SPECIALTY CERTIFICATION
Retired member, previously Certified in both Civil Pre-trial Practice Advocacy and Civil Trial Advocacy,

DISPUTE PREVENTION & RESOLUTION, INC.
Mediation and arbitration panelist.

AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION
Labor and commercial arbitration panelist.

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECURITIES DEALERS
Mediation panel.

Speeches and Panels

Mr. Hiatt has been a speaker as well as a panelist at multiple employment law seminars. He served as an adjunct instructor in construction law at the University of Hawai’i for two years in their Architecture Program. His publications include The Rejection of Cumis: Where Do We Go From Here?, HAWAII BAR JOURNAL 1999 and Nine Tips For The Trial Lawyer, HAWAII BAR JOURNAL 1997.

 
 
 

A sample of the cases Mr. Hiatt has either tried, arbitrated and/or handled on appeal include the following:

* = full civil jury trial to verdict
*** = full civil bench trial to verdict
** = full arbitration to award which was then satisfied, or which was followed by court confirmation of the arbitration award

  1. WDC Ventures v. Charles Pankow, Civil No.______, First Circuit Court (early l980's)*.

  2. Amfac v. Riblet, Civil No. __________, Second Circuit Court, Hawai'i (1986)*.

  3. Stanley Joseph, et al. v. United States of America, et al., U.S. Dist. Ct. Civ. 87-0201 (1988) ***.

  4. Morishige v. Spencecliff Corp., 720 F. Supp. 829, U.S.D.C. (D. Haw. 1989) .

  5. Eugenia Parnar v. Americana Hotel Inc., et al., Civil No. 52878, First Circuit Court, Hawaii (1989). (This portion of the Parnar case involved an attorneys’ fee lien claim on behalf of the firm of Green, Ning, Lilly & Jones, Parnar’s former counsel, for fees earned in representing her in her underlying case. Mr. Hiatt conducted the bench trial for the law firm before Judge Oshiro in September 1989; the law firm prevailed at trial and on appeal in Hawaii Supreme Court, No. 14203)***.

  6. In Re The Ferdinand John Henry Schnack and Mary Pearson Schnack Trust, S.P. No. 92-0268, First Circuit Court, Hawai‘i (1982).

  7. Calleon v. Miyagi, 76 Haw. 310, 876 P.2d 1278 (Haw. 1994)*.

  8. Mathewson v. Aloha Airlines, Inc., 82 Haw. 57, 919 P.2d 969 (Haw. 1995)**.

  9. Stratton v. Hawaii Electric Light Company, Nos. 95-16142, 95-17262, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 1996 U.S. App. LEXIS 33151, (1996) *.

  10. Shelton Higa, et al. v. Straub Hospital and Clinic, et al., Civil No. 94-0-002126, First Circuit Court, Hawaii (1996) *.

  11. Mailhiot v. Grand Wailea Co., 85 Haw. 83, 937 P.2d 924 (Haw.1997)**.

  12. Pancakes of Hawaii v. Pomare Properties Corp., 85 Haw. 286, 944 P.2d 83 (Haw. App. 1997);

  13. William L. Theobald v. Thomas E. Harrison, M.D., Civil No. 94-0302, Fifth Circuit Court, Hawaii (1997) *.

  14. Sosimo B. Tabieros, et al. v. Clark Equipment Company, et al., Civil No. 88-0-003025, First Circuit Court, Hawaii; First trial 1990, followed by appeal to Hawaii Supreme Court appeal (1992) *.

  15. Sosimo B. Tabieros, et al. v. Clark Equipment Company, et al., Civil No. 88-0-003025, First Circuit Court, Hawaii; Second trial 1993; followed by second Hawaii Supreme Court appeal (1997); 85 Hawai‘i 336, 944 P.2d 1279 (1997) *.

  16. Finley v. Home Insurance et al., 90 Haw. 25, 975 P.2d 1145 (Haw. 1998).

  17. Richard Goodell, et al. v. Nancy Smith, Civil No. ____, Third Circuit Court, Hawaii (1998)*.

  18. Lisa N. DeMello v. Hawaiian Electric Company, Inc., et al., Civil No. 97-2829-07, First Circuit Court, Hawaii (1999)*.

  19. Gonsalves v. Nissan, 100 Haw. 149, 58 P.3d 1196 (Haw. 2002)*.

  20. Morita v. County of Hawaii, 2002 Haw. LEXIS 142 (2000)*.

  21. In Re the Matter of The Marilyn Mueller Goss Family and Marital Trusts, T. No. 03-1-0023, First Circuit Court, Hawai‘i;

  22. Jaz, Inc. v. Foley, 104 Haw. 148, 85 P.3d 1099 (Haw. App. 2004)*.

  23. Sheryll Kaniho and Guy Kaniho v. Alistair Bairos, M.D., et al., Civil No. 04-1-0139K, Third Circuit Court, Hawaii (2006) *.

  24. Sue M. Meyers, individually and as Special Administrator of the Estate of Austin Kainalu Meyers, et al. v. Department of Education State of Hawaii, et al., Civil No. 04-1-0253, Third Circuit Court, Hawaii (2006)*.

  25. Metzler Contracting Co. LLC and John Metzler v. Elle Stephens, et al., 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 48760 (2007).

  26. Mr. and Mrs. Paul Stephens v. Metzler Contracting Co. LLC, Case No. 74 110 Y 00339 06, American Arbitration Association Construction Industry Tribunal (2010)**.

  27. KTS Properties, LLC v. Peter Skaaning, Civ. No. 09-00433, United States District Court of Hawai‘i (2010);

  28. Lynch v. Choy et al, FINRA Arbitration No. 09-06111 (2011)**.

  29. AOAO of the Fairways at Mauna Lani v. Stanford Carr Development et al, DPR No. 07-0347-A (2012) and AOAO of The Fairways at Mauna Lani v. Metcalf Construction Company, Inc., et al.; S.P. No. 12-1-018K, Third Circuit Court, Hawai‘i (2012**.

  30. Metzler Contr. Co. LLC v. Stephens, No. 11-15749, No. 11-15833, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 479 F. App. 783; 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 14924, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, (2012).