Hawaii Revised Statutes Division 4. Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 672B-16

[(a)] It shall be the duty of every person who files a claim with the design claim conciliation panel, every design professional against whom the claim is made, and every insurance carrier or other person providing professional tort liability insurance for the design professional, to cooperate with the design claim conciliation panel for the purpose of achieving a prompt, fair, and just disposition or settlement of the claim; provided that cooperation shall not prejudice the substantive rights of those persons.

[(b)] Any party may apply to the panel to have the costs of the action assessed against any party for failure to cooperate with the panel. The panel may award costs, or a portion thereof, including attorney's fees, witness fees, including those of expert witnesses, filing fees, and costs of the design claim conciliation panel hearing to the party applying therefor.

[(c)] In determining whether any person has failed to cooperate in good faith, the panel shall consider, but is not limited to, the following:

[(d)] The party against whom costs are awarded may appeal the award to the circuit court. The court may affirm or remand the case with instructions for further proceedings, or it may reverse or modify the award if the substantial rights of the petitioners may have been prejudiced because the award is characterized as an abuse of discretion.