1. FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:
March
26,
2012
CONTACT:
Terry
Revere
Revere
&
Associates
(808)
265-­‐5949
Email:
terry@revereandassociates.com
Jury
awards
$3.87
million
to
victims
of
Molokai
condominium
vendetta
When
retired
California
firefighter
Jim
Bevill
and
his
wife,
Nancy,
moved
from
California
and
bought
an
apartment
in
the
Ke
Nani
Kai
Condominium
on
Molokai’s
west
end
back
in
the
summer
of
2004,
they
were
looking
forward
to
enjoying
a
relaxing
life
on
the
“Friendly
Isle.”
Their
new
home
soon
turned
out
to
be
anything
but
friendly.
The
Bevills
found
themselves
targets
of
threats,
harassment,
and
intimidation
by
an
unlicensed
contractor
with
a
criminal
record
who
was
hired
to
do
various
tasks
around
the
complex
and
the
resident
manager.
A
small
group
of
apartment
owners
that
controlled
the
condominium’s
board
of
directors
either
directed
or
condoned
the
campaign
of
abuse,
according
to
a
lawsuit
filed
against
the
Ke
Nani
Kai
Association
of
Apartment
Owners,
its
board
of
directors,
and
several
individuals.
The
intimidation
lasted
for
at
least
six
years,
and
continued
even
after
the
Bevills
went
to
court
in
mid-­‐2008.
Honolulu
attorney
Terry
Revere,
who
represents
the
Bevills,
described
it
as
“the
West
Molokai
version
of
Lord
of
the
Flies
or
the
equivalent
of
a
John
Ford
Western
where
an
isolated
town
is
run
by
a
villain
and
his
collection
of
thugs.”
But
last
week,
a
Maui
jury
awarded
the
Bevills
$3.87
million
in
general
and
punitive
damages
after
finding
the
condominium
association
and
board
members
had
violated
numerous
laws
in
their
campaign
of
intimidation
against
the
Bevills
and
other
owners
who
stood
up
for
their
rights.
Revere
said
it
appears
to
be
the
largest
monetary
judgment
of
its
kind
on
record
anywhere
in
the
country
in
a
case
involving
an
internal
dispute
among
factions
of
owners
in
a
condominium.
Testimony
during
the
eight
week
trial,
and
hundreds
of
exhibits,
including
condominium
records,
emails,
and
both
audio
and
video
recordings,
showed
the
harassment,
including
several
assaults
and
death
threats,
intensified
after
the
Bevills
wrote
a
letter
to
all
owners
describing
the
crimes
being
committed
and
asking
owners
to
elect
a
new
slate
of
directors.

2. The
board
of
directors
retaliated
in
2007
by
suing
the
Bevills
and
another
couple,
claiming
the
board
was
defamed
by
their
questions
and
criticism
during
the
board
election
campaign.
The
board
pursued
the
defamation
lawsuit
despite
warnings
from
their
own
attorneys
that
the
suit
would
fail
and
had
no
other
purpose
than
to
try
to
force
the
critics
to
back
down,
according
to
evidence
introduced
in
court.
The
defamation
case
was
dismissed
by
Circuit
Court
Judge
Joel
August,
who
found
it
was
without
legal
merit.
“It
was
a
gross
misuse
of
the
board’s
discretion
to
use
condominium
funds
to
sue
their
critics
for
their
political
speech,”
Revere
said.
Last
week’s
jury
verdict
found
the
board
of
directors,
and
its
employees
and
agents
violated
state
condominium
law,
and
engaged
in
a
variety
of
illegal
acts
including
racketeering,
civil
conspiracy,
gross
negligence,
malicious
prosecution,
breach
of
contract,
and
both
negligent
and
intentional
infliction
of
emotional
distress.
The
jury
verdict
included
$500,000
dollars
in
general
damages
to
compensate
the
Bevills
for
what
they
endured
over
the
six
year
period.
In
addition,
the
jury
awarded
more
than
$3
million
in
punitive
damages,
which
are
used
to
punish
intentional
or
malicious
misconduct.
The
jury
awarded
$1.3
million
in
punitive
damages
to
be
paid
by
the
board
of
directors
and
$700,000
by
the
condominium
association.
Punitive
damages
were
also
assessed
against
three
Ke
Nani
Kai
directors—Phil
Schutte
($300,000),
Bruce
Blough
($300,000),
and
Mike
Preiss
($200,000),
the
project’s
former
resident
manager,
Darrel
Borling
($190,000),
and
unlicensed
contractor
Frank
Maurizio
($380,000).
“The
jury
sent
a
very
strong
message,”
Revere
said.
“If
you
abuse
your
owners,
and
engage
in
anything
close
to
the
outrageous
conduct
that
happened
here,
juries
aren’t
going
to
stand
for
it.”
###