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HRS §636-5

Penalty for not crediting payments on a judgment

If someone sues on an old judgment but does not give credit for payments already made, the defendant can get double the amount of those payments taken off what they owe, unless the plaintiff can show the mistake was honest or the credit was genuinely disputed.

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The statute, as written — Action on judgment; penalty for failure to credit payments

Whenever in any action brought on a prior judgment, the complaint fails to credit prior payments on the judgment, the defendant shall be entitled to offset against the true balance due on the judgment an amount double the amount of any such credit in addition to any other penalties by law prescribed in such circumstances unless the plaintiff shall show that the existence or amount of the credit was in bona fide dispute or that the failure to set forth the credit was inadvertent or the result of an honest mistake.
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.