Repossession
HRS 490:9-609 — taken without a breach of the peace, sold in a commercially reasonable way, and redeemable until then
After default, a secured lender may take the collateral, through the courts or without them, but without them only if it proceeds without breach of the peace.
Who handles this in Hawaii: Office of Consumer Protection and Hawaii State Bar Association, Lawyer Referral and Information Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Hawaii directory.
- Every aspect of the sale, its method, manner, time and place, must be commercially reasonable.
- Before selling, the lender sends the debtor and any cosigner a reasonable signed notification of the disposition.
- The proceeds go first to the costs of repossessing and selling, then to the debt. The debtor gets any surplus and owes any deficiency.
- The debtor may redeem by paying the whole obligation and the reasonable expenses at any time before the lender sells it or contracts to.
A lender that does not follow these rules is liable for the loss it causes, and for consumer goods the debtor may recover in any event at least the credit service charge plus ten per cent of the principal, or the time price differential plus ten per cent of the cash price.
Sources for this section (6)
- HRS 490:9-609 — Secured party's right to take possession after default
- HRS 490:9-610 — Disposition of collateral after default
- HRS 490:9-611 — Notification before disposition of collateral
- HRS 490:9-615 — Application of proceeds of disposition; liability for deficiency and right to surplus
- HRS 490:9-623 — Right to redeem collateral
- HRS 490:9-625 — Remedies for secured party's failure to comply with article
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Hawaii attorney.