Developer sues lady after they accidentally built on her lot, someone pooped on floor

[kalakoa]

The smart party who bought a lot at tax auction? The smart party who build without a survey? Plenty to go around.

[HiloJulie]

Yeah, I don't think the word "smart" applies in any context on this whole issue.

The other issue that boggles me is the claim that (Patrick John Lawrence Jr. — doing business as PJ’s Construction) is asserting with respect to "PJ’s motion asserts that Lawrence “has a property interest in the house he constructed.”"

I can't image any builder doing "cookie cutter" home building as was done in this case - (original deal was building 12 or so homes on 12 lots) and not being paid in monthly progress payments by Keaau Development Partnership LLC. This is insinuating that the builder does not get paid until the house is sold?

I still cannot find any confirmation that Patrick John Lawrence Jr. or PJ’s Construction is a current legally licensed contractor in the State of Hawaii.

FULL ARTICLE FROM HTH:
A contractor has been chosen to demolish a house built on the wrong lot in Hawaiian Paradise Park.

Kona Circuit Judge Kimberly Tsuchiya has selected the proposal by Sanborn General Contracting Inc. of Hilo to remove the house mistakenly built on a lot owned by Annaleine “Anne” Reynolds.

The proposed, all-inclusive budget submitted by Sanborn is $121,690.28. The contractor who erroneously built the house on Reynolds’ lot, Patrick John Lawrence Jr. — doing business as PJ’s Construction — was ordered by the judge to deposit the funds for the demolition and removal of debris by Jan. 21, 2025 into an account established by the court.

PJ’s — which was contracted by the developer, Keaau Development Partnership LLC, to build the house on a lot adjacent to Reynolds’ on 8th Avenue — is free to seek reimbursement from KDP through the court.

KDP sued PJ’s and Reynolds after learning the house had been built on Reynolds’ lot rather than the adjacent lot owned by KDP. The civil litigation came after Reynolds rejected KDP’s offer of the adjacent lot in a proposed land swap and made a counter-offer the developer found unacceptable.

Both KDP and PJ’s testified during a three-day hearing in April before since-retired Third Circuit Chief Judge Robert Kim that no survey of the land was done prior to the construction of the three-bedroom house.

Kim granted Reynolds’ motion for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order on June 24, ruling Reynolds is likely to prevail at trial “on the merits as she is an innocent victim in this case.”

Kim denied Reynolds’ request seeking to restore her one-acre lot — which she purchased in 2018 for $22,000 at a county tax auction — to its original, predevelopment condition, deeming it “impossible to return the real property to its original state.”

That lawsuit is still active, and KDP is seeking general damages of $307,318.57 and special damages between $200,000 and $300,000 for lost profits had the home been sold. It is on hold, however, as both KDP and PJ’s appealed Kim’s order in the state Intermediate Court of Appeals.

James DiPascuale, Reynolds’ Honolulu-based attorney, has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal on the grounds that Kim’s order “is not a final judgment for appeal purposes,” and therefore ICA lacks appellate jurisdiction.

Both KDP, through Kailua-Kona attorney Peter Olson, and PJ’s, through Hilo attorney Ted Hong, have filed motions in opposition to Reynolds’ motion to dismiss — both asserting the ICA has jurisdiction in the case.

KDP’s motion argues that the lower court’s order requiring the demolition of the home “constitutes an immediate execution against real property, causing undue hardship and irreparable injury if appellate review is delayed until final judgment.”

PJ’s motion asserts that Lawrence “has a property interest in the house he constructed.”

“He owns the material he purchased that he used to build the home,” the motion states. “He owns the fixtures inside the home that he purchased. He owns his labor that was employed in building the home. The home is built on (Reynolds’) property. However, (Reynolds) intentionally overlooks (Lawrence’s) property rights that will be irreparably injured by the trial court’s requirement that the building be torn down.”

No dates have been set by the ICA to hear the motions.

Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.

[terracore]

This is beyond petty. A pointless pissing match.

Let Habitat for Humanity have it.

[kalianna]

Better idea. Keep it, sell it, invest the money in several adjacent empty lots for her healing thing.

[randomq]

There will be no healing on that lot. Too much bad karma.

[punikahakaiferret]

I really do feel for the woman to whom this preventable disaster/travesty occurred.

I can't see the place ever regaining whatever mana, energy, or vibe she felt it had, but she certainly has every right to ask for it to be restored to as much the original condition as it could, as a matter of principle.

It's more a shame that all those building materials will no doubt go to waste and be unusable and discarded.

[leilanidude]

I can't see the place ever regaining whatever mana, energy, or vibe she felt it had, but she certainly has every right to ask for it to be restored to as much the original condition as it could, as a matter of principle.
-------
The lot was full of albizia. You can even see it on old Google street view pics. She won a mini lottery by their mistake and her stubbornness cost her a few hundred thousand dollars. She was even offered the lot next door which couldn't have been any different than the one she had.

[HiloJulie]

I have tried to search this out to no avail, but does anyone know if the house demolition also includes the unearthing of the septic tank and related piping etc. that had to have been installed?

[terracore]

There will be no healing on that lot.  Too much bad karma.

"Someone pooped on floor".