The high-stakes dispute between the Honolulu rail authority and one of its most important contractors escalated again this week as the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation filed a new claim alleging Hitachi Rail Honolulu JV made false statements in its multimillion-dollar lawsuit against HART.
The HART counterclaim accuses Hitachi of breach of contract and violations of Hawaiʻi’s False Claims Act, which allows for triple damages when claims against a county are based on “false or fraudulent” demands for payment.
Hitachi sued HART last month seeking more than $320 million in compensation for construction delays on the rail project, which is currently running more than a decade behind schedule. The Hitachi lawsuit blames project delays on mismanagement by HART…