Status: In progress

Alaimaleata, et al. v. The United States of America

A group of Honolulu residents claim the U.S. is responsible for an incident that led to the contamination of their drinking water in November 2021.

  • Deadline to file a claim: TBD
  • Proof of Purchase Required: No
  • Potential Individual Reward: TBD
  • Total Settlement Amount: TBD
  • States Involved

Abraham Jewett  |  April 13, 2023

Category: Legal News

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Navy mission on display in Hawaii
(Photo Credit: Benny Marty/Shutterstock)

Honolulu drinking water contamination class action lawsuit overview: 

  • Who: A group of Honolulu residents filed a class action lawsuit against the United States of America. 
  • Why: The Honolulu residents claim the United States is responsible for a 2021 incident that contaminated their drinking water.
  • Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Hawaii federal court. 

The U.S. government bears responsibility for a 2021 incident that led to the contamination of the primary drinking water source for residents of Honolulu, Hawaii, a new class action lawsuit alleges. 

A group of Honolulu residents claim an alleged error by operators at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility caused a pair of pipes to rupture and spill “highly toxic jet fuel and other contaminants” on the island of Oahu. 

The Honolulu residents argue their drinking water was contaminated Nov. 20, 2021, after a Navy employee contacted and ruptured a pipeline where the toxic jet fuel had come to rest. 

The rupture caused the fuel to spill into a “pre-existing tunnel system” near the primary source for the community of Red Hill’s drinking water, which serves more than 90,000 “military servicemen and women, and their families,” the Honolulu residents claim.

The Honolulu residents want to represent a nationwide class of individuals who were not employed by the U.S. military and whose drinking water was exposed to contaminated water as a result of being supplied by the Red Hill water shaft. 

Navy concluded water contamination resulted from ‘human error,’ class action says

The Navy ultimately concluded through an investigation that the Honolulu drinking water contamination “resulted from human error and a failure to comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations, and standards,” the class action alleges. 

“The United States must be held accountable for the harm it has caused,” the Honolulu drinking water class action states. “System operators had a duty to act reasonably and didn’t. The Navy had a duty to clean up its mess. It didn’t.”

The Honolulu residents claim the U.S. violated the Federal Tort Claims Act through alleged nuisance and negligence. 

The plaintiffs demand a jury trial and request declaratory and injunctive relief along with an award of actual and compensatory damages for themselves and all class members. 

North Carolina residents filed a similar class action lawsuit against the U.S. government in February over claims it failed to ensure the safety of water used by citizens near the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. 

Are you a Honolulu resident that was impacted by the drinking water contamination incident? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Margery S. Bronster and Robert M. Hatch of Bronster Fujichaku Robbins and Richard D. McCune, David C. Wright, Dana R. Vogel and Keena Patel of McCune Law Group. 

The Honolulu drinking water contamination class action lawsuit is Alaimaleata, et al. v. The United States of America, Case No. 1:23-cv-00164, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai’i.


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