Hawaii Limitations — HRS §657-1 / §657-7
Hawaii civil actions to recover penalties are barred by the statute of limitations. HRS §657-1 sets 6-year limit for general civil actions; HRS §657-7 sets 2 years for personal injury / 6 years for general claims. Parking citations, treated as civil debts, fall under the 6-year general limit, but may be argued under shorter limits as 'penalty' actions. Enforcement after limitations period is barred and may violate FDCPA.
Legal basis
HRS §657-1 (6-year general limit); HRS §657-7 (specific actions); HRS §480-24 (UDAP — 4 years)
Sample appeal wording
[Municipality / Collection Agency]\nRe: Notice of Statute of Limitations Defense\n\nDear Sir/Madam,\n\nI received your collection notice dated [DATE] regarding alleged parking citation #[CITATION_NUMBER] originally issued on [ORIGINAL_DATE].\n\nUnder HRS §657-1, civil actions must be commenced within 6 years of accrual. The cited violation accrued more than [YEARS] years ago. Any civil action to enforce this debt is BARRED.\n\nThis letter constitutes formal notice of my limitations defense. Continued collection on a time-barred debt may violate:\n- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 USC 1692)\n- Hawaii UDAP (HRS §480-2 — treble damages)\n\nDemand: Cease collection within 30 days; remove from credit reporting. Failure to comply will result in regulatory complaints to Hawaii OCP, CFPB, and civil action.\n\n[NAME]\n[CERTIFIED MAIL #]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- HRS §657-1
- HRS §657-7
- FDCPA — 15 USC 1692