Crichfield v. Grand Wailea Company7/31/2000
s true meaning." HRS § 1-15(2) (1993).
"Laws in pari materia, or upon the same subject matter, shall be construed with reference to each other. What is clear in one statute may be called upon in aid to explain what is doubtful in another." HRS § 1-16 (1993). State v. Kotis, 91 Hawaii 319, 327, 984 P.2d 78, 86 (1999) (quoting State v. Dudoit, 90 Hawaii 262, 266, 978 P.2d 700, 704 (1999) (quoting State v. Stocker, 90 Hawaii 85, 90-91, 976 P.2d 399, 404-05 (1999) (quoting Ho v. Leftwich, 88 Hawaii 251, 256-57, 965 P.2d 793, 798-99 (1998) (quoting Korean Buddhist Dae Won Sa Temple v. Sullivan, 87 Hawaii 217, 229-30, 953 P.2d 1315, 1327-28 (1998))))) (some ellipsis points and brackets added and some in original).
III. DISCUSSION
A. The Hawaii Recreational Use Statute
HRUS was first enacted in 1969. See 1969 Haw. Sess. L. Act 186, at 333-35. It subsequently has been amended twice, once in 1996, see 1996 Haw. Sess. L. Act 151, at 328-29, and again in 1997, see 1997 Haw. Sess. L. Act 272, at 603-04, and 1997 Haw. Sess. L. Act 380, § 9 at 1193, 1205-06. The statutorily declared purpose of HRUS is "to encourage owners of land to make land and water areas available to the public for recreational purposes by limiting their liability toward persons entering thereon for such purposes." HRS § 520-1 (1993).
HRUS defines a number of key terms:
"Charge" means the admission price or fee asked in return for invitation or permission to enter or go upon the land.
"House guest" means any person specifically invited by the owner or a member of the owner's household to visit at the owner's home whether for dinner, or to a party, for conversation or any other similar purposes including for recreation, and includes playmates of the owner's minor children.
"Land" means land, roads, water, water courses, private ways and buildings, structures, and machinery or equipment when attached to realty, other than lands owned by the government.
"Owner" means the possessor of a fee interest, a tenant, lessee, occupant, or person in control of the premises.
"Recreational purpose" includes but is not limited to any of the following, or any combination thereof: hunting, fishing, swimming, boating, camping, picnicking, hiking, pleasure driving, nature study, water skiing, winter sports, and viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites.
"Recreational user" means any person who is on or about the premises that the owner of land either directly indirectly invites or permits, without charge, entry onto the property for recreational purposes.
HRS § 520-2 (brackets in original) (1993 & Supp. 1997).
The heart of HRUS immunizes an owner of land from liability to any person who enters or uses the owner's land for recreational purposes:
Except as specifically recognized or provided in section 520-6, an owner of land owes no duty of care to keep the premises safe for entry or use by others for recreational purposes, or to give any warning of a dangerous condition, use, structure, or activity on such premises to persons entering for such purposes, or to persons entering for a purpose in response to a recreational user who requires assistance, either direct or indirect, including but not limited to rescue, medical care, or other form of assistance. HRS § 520-3 (1993 & Supp. 1997). Section 520-6 provides that:
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to:
(1) Create a duty of care or ground of liability for injury to persons or property.
(2) Relieve any person using the land of another for recr
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