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HRS §636-16

When interest can start in a lawsuit

In civil lawsuits, the judge can choose when interest starts to accrue, based on the case's facts. For injury cases, it can start when the injury happened. For contract cases, it can start when the contract was broken.

courts

The statute, as written — Awarding interest

In awarding interest in civil cases, the judge is authorized to designate the commencement date to conform with the circumstances of each case, provided that the earliest commencement date in cases arising in tort, may be the date when the injury first occurred and in cases arising by breach of contract, it may be the date when the breach first occurred.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.