Servicemembers Can Sue On-Base Housing Providers in Hawaii Court

A lawsuit by military personnel against private companies that provide their on-base housing must be returned to Hawaiian court, the Ninth Circuit said.

The government owns the land on which the housing is built on Marine Corps Base Hawaii. But ownership and management rights for the residential units were conveyed to Ohana Military Communities LLC and Forest City Residential Management Inc.

Community residents sued the two companies under Hawaii law for not giving them notice of major pesticide contamination on the property.

When the defendants removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, that court ...