Lanai condo owners sue
over allegedly flawed unitsBuyers say a lack of proper
drainage resulted in damage
WAILUKU >> More than a dozen people have filed a lawsuit in Maui Circuit Court against Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC for allegedly failing to use proper foundations or soil in the construction of the Terraces at Manele Bay, Phase Two.
Buyers of the luxury condominium units charged the firm and its subsidiary, Lanai Co., failed to install proper drainage, resulting in water damage and construction problems, including cracked or separated walls, windows, floors, foundations and roofs.
The owners allege the company breached its warranty agreement, according to the lawsuit filed last Friday.
Last February, Castle & Cooke Resorts LLC filed a lawsuit charging that a civil engineering firm and others involved in landscaping used "inadequate drainage criteria" in developing the Manele and Koele golf courses and resort homes.
Water from a rainstorm flooded luxury homes at the Terraces at Manele Bay on Jan. 29, 2002.
Andrew Winer, the attorney representing the owners, said the lawsuit affects 10 of the 26 units in the project and that the 10 units have a total purchase price in excess of $12 million.
"We would anticipate that the diminished-value claim, standing alone, will be well into the seven figures," Winer said. "The homes are getting worse. People are trying to live in them as best they can."
He said all of the units were purchased as second homes between 1998 and 2000, and a couple of the owners planned to live in them as primary homes upon retirement.
Winer said his clients are in mediation with the company.
A Castle & Cooke official was unavailable for comment.