§657-11  Recoveries authorized by federal statute.  Whenever any federal statute provides for damages or equitable relief and neither the federal statute nor any specific state statute specifies the period within which suit may be brought, the suit, if brought in a state court, shall be commenced within two years from the date the cause of action arises or be thereafter barred.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 657-11

  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.