Federal transit officials and the city have responded to a lawsuit that was filed in hopes of stopping construction of Honolulu‘s rail transit project.
The lawsuit, filed three months ago in federal court, alleges that city and federal transit officials ignored a federal law mandating careful consideration of a mass transit route as well as the technology that’s selected.
In their 30-page response to the suit, the defendants "deny that plaintiffs are entitled to the relief they seek or any relief whatsoever."
It goes on to say "plaintiffs have failed to state a claim on which relief can be granted on some or all of their claims."
The plaintiffs include several groups and individuals including Former Governor Ben Cayetano, and UH Law School Professor Randy Roth.
They feel the defendants’ response is weak.
“Elevated heavy rail was Mufi Hannemann’s top down slam it through idea. We think it was a really bad idea,” said Roth. “ We think they violated the law, and now with this latest development, we’re really optimistic we’re going to stop rail soon. “
Roth says he and the other plaintiffs are thinking about asking the judge to tell the defendants to hold off on all work on the rail system until the case is resolved.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
