A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of Country Club-Hawaii apartment owners who challenged the Banyan Drive building’s board of directors for control of the condominium-hotel property.
On Friday, Kauai Circuit Judge Randal Valenciano granted a motion by defendants Sadao Aoki, Pearl Macomber, Dennis Compton and Robert Eaton to dismiss the suit.
Valenciano, who heard the case after all four Big Island circuit judges recused themselves from hearing the suit, ruled the group calling itself “The Association of Apartment Owners of Country Club Hawaii, Inc.” didn’t have legal standing to sue because the mail-in election the group ran was not according to the apartment’s bylaws.
Steve Strauss, attorney for the apartment owners’ group, led by Carl Oguss, asked Valenciano to hold off on his ruling so another election could be held, but the judge denied the request.
The dismissal was without prejudice, which means plaintiffs can re-file the suit, and Oguss said he intends to do so.
The dismissal upholds the authority of the building’s original board of directors chaired by Macomber, a board Oguss claimed was improperly controlled through proxy votes by building leaseholder Herbert Arata.
“As I said all along, the truth will prevail,” Kevin Aoki of Property Professionals said Tuesday. Aoki, who was the building’s former managing agent, is Sadao Aoki’s son and Arata’s nephew.
Honolulu attorney George Van Buren was appointed as a receiver for the property because of financial gridlock and nonpayment of bills caused by the battle of the boards. Valenciano terminated the receivership as part of his ruling. Van Buren said he will turn over maintenance fee funds collected from unit owners to the Macomber board.
The building’s managing agent, Richard Emery of Hawaii First, called the ruling “very good news, because we know now who is in charge, and we can move forward in a positive way.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.