LIHU‘E — Chief Judge Randal Valenciano of the 5th Circuit Court recused himself Thursday from a condemnation case brought by the County of Kaua‘i against Hanalei boatyard owner Michael Sheehan. Sheehan said by phone that he was once a client
LIHU‘E — Chief Judge Randal Valenciano of the 5th Circuit Court recused himself Thursday from a condemnation case brought by the County of Kaua‘i against Hanalei boatyard owner Michael Sheehan.
Sheehan said by phone that he was once a client of Valenciano when he was an attorney in private practice. The case will go to another circuit court judge but no hearing date was given.
“Nothing was resolved in court today,” county spokeswoman Beth Tokioka said Thursday afternoon.
The county’s motion was to have an order for Sheehan to show cause to his right to block county possession of three Hanalei River parcels owned by Sheehan and Hanalei River Holdings LLC.
An ex parte order granted by Valenciano on May 3 was the culmination of condemnation proceedings over 18 months, according to the county.
“We will continue to pursue the legal process and expect to take possession of the other two parcels in the near future,” Tokioka said.
But Sheehan’s attorney, Richard Wilson, said the recusal in effect is a withdrawal of the motion. The county failed to prosecute the motion with the recusal, he said.
Wilson said he would file a motion to dismiss the case for violation of court rules and for failing to properly serve Hanalei River Holdings, a Cook Island company.
The county filed its motion on May 31, 2011, regarding the lots in the back of Hanalei’s Black Pot Beach Park that are the subject of a long dispute — and served Sheehan 14 months later.
As the county has possession, everything has already been moved off the property, he added.
Sheehan is asking the county to start negotiating by first agreeing to an updated property valuation to include site improvements, Wilson said. The original valuation is for the land alone and is stale, he said.
The old appraisal and the county’s recent heavy-handed tactics involving police and county officials ordering everybody off the site was offensive, Wilson said.
A proper valuation and mediation would result in a friendly hand-over ceremony and show Sheehan as a good steward who wants what is best for his heritage, Wilson said.
“I wish the county would take us up on negotiating a sale price,” Wilson said. “I’d be there in a heartbeat and they just won’t do it.”
Wilson said negotiations with the county would be preferable to having a valuation determined by a jury.
∫ Tom LaVenture, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or by emailing tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
