Tuesday, April 13, 1999

Buyout considered
for vonAppen

The dispute between Hawaii
and its former football coach
might be settled out of
court after all

By Paul Arnett
Star-Bulletin

Former University of Hawaii head football coach Fred vonAppen may not be headed to a courtroom just yet.

His attorneys were contacted last week by UH's lawyers to see if a buyout could be reached. If so, tomorrow's scheduled hearing in District Court might be avoided.

"Nobody contacted me today," vonAppen said last night. "Right now, I'm planning on showing up in court. I've heard everything third-hand. But we aren't going to do anything until we see some (buyout) figures."

VonAppen's personal attorney, Guy Sibilla, said last night that he would know more today whether a possible proposal from UH is forthcoming.

"The fact that they contacted us about a possible buyout is a 180-degree turn," Sibilla said. "Before, they weren't even interested in talking. So, we'll see."

By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Arizona coach Dick Tomey and then-UH head coach
Fred vonAppen talked briefly after last year's meeting
of the two teams. Tomey is also a former UH head coach.

VonAppen filed suit against Hawaii last month after athletic director Hugh Yoshida attempted to reassign him to Honolulu Community College in January and cut his annual salary from $153,000 to $103,000.

"First, they terminated him, then they tried to reassign him with reduced benefits," Sibilla said. "It's not right and we're going to fight it."

UH attorney Burt Kobayashi countered vonAppen's suit two weeks later. In the 19-page document, Kobayashi not only stated that vonAppen is compelled to arbitrate his claims, he also feels Hawaii courts recognize a public policy in favor of arbitration as a means of settling differences to avoid possible litigation.

VonAppen's attorneys were willing to arbitrate, but argued that UH only wanted certain parts of vonAppen's contract reviewed.

"Right now, Honolulu Community College is not in the equation," Sibilla said. "But it's tough to really know what might or might not happen without hearing what the other side has to say."