Suit alleges project
raises rockfall risk

A Nuuanu family says work on a hillside
home threatens their property below it

A Nuuanu family is suing the owners of hillside property above Henry Street, alleging that construction has increased the risk of falling rocks.

Elaine and Dan Hirashima, of 2521 Henry St., has sued Vance N. Vaughan, successor trustee of the Vance Vaughan Revocable Trust, which owns the Pacific Heights Road property above the Hirashimas. The suit also names the City and County of Honolulu as a defendant.

The suit, filed in Circuit Court on July 23, alleges that construction and improvements to the Vaughan Trust property resulted in extensive alterations to the mountainside above their home, compromising its stability and increasing the risk of falling rocks. The city should have known that diverting large amounts of water onto the Vaughan property would dramatically erode the mountainside, causing rocks to fall in or near their home, the suit alleged.

They contend the city has failed to adequately monitor and maintain a drainage system built directly above the Hirashimas' property and to take steps to eliminate the risk of harm to them.

City spokeswoman Carol Costa said city officials have not seen the complaint and could not comment.

Patrick and Gail Onishi, who live next door to the Hirashimas, filed a wrongful-death claim with similar allegations against the Vaughans last year.

Their daughter, Dara Onishi, 26, was killed when a 6-ton boulder tumbled down the steep hillside above their home in August 2002 and crushed her as she slept.

Attorney John Price, who represents the Vaughans in that case, said the city was just brought in as a defendant, and discovery is continuing.