‘Aliomanu resident William “Bill” Young is ready to take on Hollywood in court.
Named in a lawsuit for trespassing, slander of title, injurious falsehood, and other charges relating to alleged statements he and others are alleged to have made about a government road running through Hollywood film-company head Peter Guber’s property at Papa‘a Bay north of Anahola, Young said he is looking forward to his day in court.
“Oh, certainly,” Young replied when asked earlier this week if he would fight the charges filed by attorneys for Guber’s Mandalay Properties LLC.
As of earlier this week, though, he had not found an attorney willing to take his case, he said.
Young, publisher of the monthly The Kaua‘i newspaper, said in his eight-page response filed with the court he doesn’t think the case belongs in federal court, and is basically a SLAPP case.
“SLAPP” stands for “strategic lawsuit against public participation,” Young explained.
Guber’s attorney, Paul Alston, said earlier that alleged statements made by Young and others were designed to scare away potential buyers of the property, and have done his client financial harm.
Young contends he and other members of the community who regularly attend the Anahola Ka Leo O Kaua‘i meetings convened by Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste are looking forward to the sale of the 172-acre Papa‘a Bay estate, hoping new owners will have more sympathetic ears when it comes to beach access.
“All of us were really looking forward to the sale,” said Young.
There is some dispute as to whether or not a public, government road runs through Guber’s property to an area near the beach, as Young and others contend, or whether it ends at Guber’s gate, which Guber and Alston say is the case.
Baptiste has reserved comment on the matter until a title search is completed.
Young said his comments on the potential government road running through a portion of the property were designed simply to provide “full disclosure” to any potential buyer of the Papa‘a property.
Barbara Sloan, a real estate professional with Coldwell Banker Bali Hai Realty Inc., said this week that the property is listed for sale for $42.5 million.
Contrary to some information circulating that the property is in escrow, there is no buyer at the present time, Sloan said.
Associate Editor Paul C. Curtis may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
