Background
This consolidated appeal arose from two related foreclosure actions in the Circuit Court of the First Circuit of Hawaii. In the first case (1CC181000084), The Bank of New York Mellon, as successor indenture trustee for the CWHEQ Revolving Home Equity Loan Trust, Series 2005-E, brought a foreclosure action against defendant Mia Ban, among others. In the second case (1CCV-19-0002206), U.S. Bank Trust National Association, as trustee of the Truman 2021 SC9 Title Trust, filed a related foreclosure action against Ban, with the Bank of New York Mellon entity and the United States — Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service named as additional defendants.
The Circuit Court entered a judgment on October 6, 2025, and Ban filed a notice of appeal to the Intermediate Court of Appeals on December 5, 2025. The appeal was docketed as CAAP-25-0000855. Following docketing, the parties negotiated a resolution and filed a stipulation for dismissal with prejudice on May 22, 2026.
The Court’s Holding
The Intermediate Court of Appeals approved the parties’ stipulation and dismissed Ban’s appeal with prejudice. The court found that all procedural requirements for stipulated dismissal under Hawaii Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 42(b) were satisfied: the appeal had been docketed, the stipulation was signed by counsel for all appearing parties, and the parties agreed to bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs on appeal.
The order was issued by Chief Judge Karen T. Nakasone and Associate Judges Clyde J. Wadsworth and Daniel M. Gluck. The dismissal is designated not for publication in West’s Hawaiʻi Reports and Pacific Reporter.
Key Takeaways
- The appeal from the October 6, 2025 circuit court judgment was dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a stipulation signed by all parties appearing in the appeal.
- Each party will bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs on appeal, as agreed in the stipulation.
- Dismissal was authorized under Hawaii Rules of Appellate Procedure Rule 42(b), which permits stipulated dismissal once an appeal has been docketed.
Why It Matters
This dismissal closes out appellate review of two related Hawaii foreclosure proceedings involving a home equity loan trust instrument. While the order itself contains no merits ruling, the with-prejudice dismissal means Ban may not re-appeal the underlying October 2025 judgment, effectively finalizing the circuit court’s resolution in favor of the plaintiff-lenders.
The case illustrates the use of stipulated appellate dismissals in mortgage foreclosure litigation — a common mechanism when parties reach a post-judgment settlement or when a defendant-appellant determines further appellate pursuit is no longer warranted.