Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 636-5

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.

Whenever in any action brought on a prior judgment, the complaint fails to credit prior payments on the judgment, the defendant shall be entitled to offset against the true balance due on the judgment an amount double the amount of any such credit in addition to any other penalties by law prescribed in such circumstances unless the plaintiff shall show that the existence or amount of the credit was in bona fide dispute or that the failure to set forth the credit was inadvertent or the result of an honest mistake.