[31 ASR2d 165]
FAUTUA L.T. FAUMUINA, Plaintiff
v.
SAUNOA S. VAOULI, SUAFA`I P. SATELE,
Defendants
________________________________
In the Matter of the Matai Title "FAUMUINA" of the
High Court of
Land and Titles Division
MT No. 08-90
February 26, 1997
Before
KRUSE, Chief Justice, AFUOLA, Associate Judge, LOGOAI, Associate Judge,
ATIULAGI, Associate Judge, and MAILO, Temporary Associate
Judge.
Counsel:
For Plaintiff, Tuana`itau F. Tuia, LP
For Defendant, Saunoa S. Vaouli, Gata E.W.
Gurr
For Defendant, Suafa`i P. Satele, Asaua
Fuimaono
Opinion and Order:
This
case originally went to trial in the Land and Titles Division in March of 1992,
and concluded with the title "Faumuina" being awarded to candidate A.P.
Lutali. On appeal, the Appellate
Division vacated the trial court's decision and remanded. The appellate court reversed on two
grounds: that the court failed to determine the identity and makeup of the
Faumuina family clans, and that certain associate judges who sat at the trial
level should have recused themselves.
Since remand, candidate Utu Sinagege has passed away and candidate A.P.
Lutali has withdrawn his claim.
A.P. Lutali's withdrawal from the case has eliminated the perceived
conflict of interest involving the associate judges. The case is now once again before the
Land and Titles Division having first being placed on calendar for trial for
August 26, 1994. However, after
countless postponements, for further family discussion, the matter was finally
heard on January 22-24, 1997.
Following the parties' filing of post-trial briefs, the court took the
matter under advisement and now issues the following opinion and
order.
In
these matters, the court is guided by the four criteria set out in A.S.C.A. §
1.0409(c): (1) best hereditary right; (2) clan support; (3) forcefulness,
character and personality, and knowledge of Samoan customs; and (4) value to
family, village, and country.
1. Hereditary
Right
Each
party measured his hereditary entitlement to the nearest titleholder in his
lineage. Fautua L.T. Faumuina
("Fautua") claimed 50% entitlement on the basis that his father, Faumuina Tuika
III, was a previous title holder.
Suafa`i P. Satele ("Satele") claimed 25% entitlement in that Faumuina
Tuika III was his maternal grandfather.
Saunoa S. Vaouli ("Saunoa") traces his line to Faumuina Tuika II, his
great, great grandfather and accordingly claimed 6.25%
entitlement.
Fautua
clearly prevails on this issue, and we so find.
2. Wish of the
Clans
We
note at the outset that the parties have all changed their respective positions
on the identity and makeup of family clans from the positions they had asserted
and testified under oath at the original trial. On the evidence before us, we find that
there is only one clan of the Faumuina family, known as Tuika. We further find that no one candidate
enjoyed prevailing family opinion at the very first series of family meetings
which were convened before the original trial in this matter. However, on the evidence received as to
post-appeal family gatherings, we find that Fautua had lost much of the support
that he had previously held, largely because of his perceived endorsement of
candidate Lutali when he withdrew his appeal in the name of "peace and harmony
in the family."
Saunoa, on the other hand, demonstrated some family
support, but we find the evidence preponderating in favor of Suafa`i on the
issue of clan preference. While
both Saunoa and Suafa`i live in the village, unlike Fautua, Suafa`i finds the greatest favor with family elders because of
regular service to the family. He
has, together with his uncle Logomai, maintained the family sao's
monotaga and he is the only candidate who is confronted from day to day
with the family's commitments. At
the same time, he has invariably served as the family's spokesman on numerous
occasions. In a nutshell, he enjoys
the weight of family opinion because of his active
tautua.
Since
Suafa`i enjoys the greatest measure of family support, we conclude that he
therefore prevails on this consideration.[31 ASR2d 167]
3. Forcefulness,
Character and Personalty, and Knowledge of Samoan
Customs
In our
evaluation of each of the parties, we rate Saunoa slightly ahead of the other
candidates on the element of forcefulness.
He has relatively excelled in his efforts to better himself, having
graduated from college and made a career in the federal government as a
recruiter for a branch of the armed forces. He is young, industrious, and is also
enjoying some measure of success in the business ventures that he operates with
his wife.
Fautua
is now retired from the American Samoa Government where he had, for many years,
employed his skills and talents as an automotive mechanic. Notwithstanding the more limited
opportunities that were available to his generation, Fautua has done rather well
for himself. He is financially
secure in his retirement, receiving both government
retirement and social security benefits, as well as regular monetary assistance
from his adult children. He
currently concentrates his efforts in farming and boasts rental homes as a
supplemental source of income. With
his age, he is more circumspect and better tempered in disposition. Family harmony seems to be his motto,
even at the expense of incurring family wrath when he endorsed, in the name of
family concord, the trial court's previous choice of candidate Lutali as the
next titleholder. His demeanor on
the stand also manifested his personable qualities. He appeared genuine when he expressed
his utter disappointment in the seemingly no-holds-barred approach taken during
trial by the other candidates, his younger relatives, in derogation of family
harmony. We are inclined to rate
Fautua ahead of Saunoa and Suafa`i on the consideration of
personality.
Suafa`i on the other hand has also had a long career with
the American Samoa Government. He
has dutifully worked his way up the ranks and now enjoys a supervisory position
with the Port Administration. At
one time, he also ran a business in the village but was less successful. This had, in our view, something to do
with his choice of lifestyle; that is, emphasis on the communal way of life and
the active service of the family in accordance with the dictates of the fa`a
Samoa. Unlike Fautua and
Saunoa, whose lifestyles have tended to emphasize their own individual wants and
aspirations, Suafa`i's choice of lifestyle has been less independent of the
demands and needs of the Faumuina family.
In this regard, we are inclined to place him ahead of the other
candidates in terms of the character factor. Additionally, Suafa`i's day to day
experience with family and village affairs, is clearly demonstrative of his
greater familiarity with matters of Samoan customs, as revealed by his answers
to questions of the Associate Judges.
(The earlier trial court also noted Suafa`i's "excellent" knowledge of
Samoan custom.) We are[31 ASR2d 168] satisfied that Suafa`i is
stronger in terms of the elements of character and knowledge of Samoan
customs.
Weighing the relative strengths and weaknesses of the
parties, we conclude in favor of Suafa`i on this
criterion.
4. Value to Family,
Village, and Country
In
their own chosen career fields, each candidate has positively contributed to the
general well being of the territory.
However, Suafa`i is superior on the issues of value to family and
village.
The
evidence shows that Fautua has for many years lived in the Malaeimi area, and
that he is involved only intermittently in Faumuina family
fa`alavelave. He readily
admits reliance on the family members living in Alofau to attend to the day to
day obligations of the sao and family.
This is, in actuality, effective testament to Suafa`i's service to the
family. Moreover, Fautua's
allegiance as a matai and as a church deacon are primarily owed elsewhere, and
not with Alofau.
Saunoa, although living in Alofau, has not, as a non-titled
person, involved himself much in village affairs. He is involved about as much in family
affairs. Although he does
contribute to important family fa`alavelave, Saunoa must point to the
past services of his father and ancestors to highlight the equities on his side
of the family. His focus in life to
date, however, has been his own personal and career goals. Indeed, his return to the territory was
coincidental with his good fortune in securing a duty station on
Suafa`i, however, impresses us as having the best potential
to lead the family and take on the burdens and responsibilities of the Faumuina
title. He enjoys strong family
following and support since he is perceived as not having simply demanded
entitlement to the Faumuina title, but that he has effectively demonstrated
merit by earning it the traditional way--through service and tautua to
the family. In terms of rapport
with the village council and beyond, Suafa`i has and continues to enjoy
recognition and stature not only because of the many inter-family occasions,
both within and beyond Alofau, that he has acquitted himself as the Faumuina
family's spokesman, but also because of his active involvement in village
projects and village affairs.[31 ASR2d
169]
On
this fourth consideration, we find that the parties are by and large equal with
respect to value to the country, but find that Suafa`i's record speaks most
convincingly in terms of value to family and village.
We
conclude that Suafa`i prevails also on this criterion.
Based
on the foregoing, we hold that Suafa`i is qualified to hold the title
Faumuina. While Fautua prevails on
hereditary considerations, Suafa`i prevails over both Fautua and Saunoa on the
second, third, and fourth criteria.
The Territorial Registrar shall, in accordance with A.S.C.A. § 1.0409(b),
register the matai title Faumuina, attached to the
It is
so ordered.