The fate of one of Hawaii’s iconic resorts remains in a legal tangle four years after it was struck by a tsunami.
The fate of one of Hawaii’s iconic resorts remains in a legal tangle four years after it was struck by a tsunami.
On Thursday attorneys for the nine involved parties were to meet for a status conference, but it was moved farther out.
The Kona Village Resort was one of the hardest-hit complexes of the March 2011 tsunami, with huts forced out of place, water damage to numerous buildings and extensive destruction.
The resort closed, putting 200 people out of work at a business that opened in 1965.
There were plans to reopen the 86-acre resort.
The resort wasn’t expected to open until late 2013, according to the Feb. 20, 2012, issue of Travel Weekly.
That hope apparently crumbled and by Aug. 9, 2012, Kona Village wasn’t paying its scheduled interest, ground taxes, lease fees or contractors, the suit alleges.
Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas and KW Kona Investors LLC filed the suit on Nov. 4, 2012.
The suit alleges that the owners “failed, refused and neglected” to repay more than $86.4 million in loans made in May 2012.
Deutsche Bank was already a lender to the resort, having executed a loan and security agreement in March 2007.
It added two loans, one for $77 million and the other for $11 million two months after the tsunami ravaged the resort.
The case was against Valleycrest Landscape Development Inc. and Consilium Partners LLC.
Kamehameha Schools, which own the lands leased by the resort, joined the plaintiffs. They seek to have the mortgage foreclosed.
The school filed a notice of default, demand for cure and notice of imminent termination against Kona Village Investments on Oct. 2, 2012.
As the case continued, Isemoto Contracting Co. Ltd. and Sam O. Hirota Inc. joined the defendants.
In total, nine companies are involved in the filing.
Months of legal wrangling over three counterclaims made by Kona Village Investors LLC against Duestsche Bank and other plaintiffs further ate up more time.
Duetsche Bank’s efforts to keep part of the proceedings sealed and limit the time of certain depositions also consumed extended periods of time.
Attempts to arrange a mediation time also took months.
Under Hawaii court rules, parties in a civil case are required to hold a “good faith” mediation before proceeding to trial.
At one point, William Meheula said there was a tentative mediation agreement on May 5, according to court documents.
Margery Bronster, representing the bank, rejected this, saying that no tentative agreement had been reached, according to court documents.
Calls to attorneys for each party in the case were not returned by press time Thursday.