LIHU‘E — A wrongful death lawsuit, stemming from an incident involving the Mark Zuckerberg compound in Moloa‘a, is set to go to trial in June 2024.
The suit attributes security guard Rodney Medeiros’ fatal 2019 on-the-job heart attack to negligence on the part of the Zuckerberg-affiliated limited liability corporations that own the property.
At a hearing last week, Fifth Circuit Chief Judge Randal Valenciano set the case for a tentative jury trial date of June 10, 2024, with a pretrial conference scheduled for May 16, 2024. It remains possible that the suit will reach a resolution before the jury trial.
“Hopefully the case will be resolved before then,” said Michael Stern, a lawyer representing Medeiros’ family. “But if not, we will be happy to go to the jury and ask for a substantial amount of money for what the estate and the three children have gone through.”
According to the lawsuit, Medeiros, 70, was assigned to guard a remote post on Pila‘a Beach, while Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan were visiting a ranch on Aug. 4, 2019. His job was to report passersby on the beach over his radio.
When his 12-hour shift ended at around 6 p.m., Medeiros began walking up a steep, muddy access trail. Though he was usually picked up by a Kawasaki security cart, due to rainy conditions that day, the cart could not reach his post.
Several minutes after he started up the path, another guard discovered Medeiros leaning up against a tree, complaining that his chest hurt. Medics transported him roughly 20 miles to the Wilcox Medical Center in Lihu‘e, where he died early the next morning.
Queen’s Medical Center cardiologist John Cogan M.D. independently reviewed Medeiros’ medical information and said, “climbing the hill as part of completing work was a substantial factor in precipitating the acute event,” in a report provided to The Garden Island.
Attorneys for the family say the property owners, Pila‘a Land LLC and Pila‘a International LLC, and the security company Limitless Specialty Services Associates LLC, had a duty to do more to provide Medeiros with safe passage back from his post, with Stern saying a small investment in safeguards for the wheels of the cart would have allowed it to reach Medeiros’ location.
Representatives for the Zuckerberg-Chan family did not address the possibility of a trial directly, instead releasing the following statement: “Ko‘olau Ranch continues to extend our deepest sympathies to the family of Rodney Medeiros for their tragic loss. When notified that Mr. Medeiros was in need of assistance, Ko‘olau Ranch personnel acted immediately to provide help and notify emergency personnel.”
They also emphasized that drivers at the ranch complete a training program, and that vehicles are professionally maintained.
In the event of a trial, the Meta billionaire Zuckerberg would likely be named as a witness.
“He and his wife are definitely witnesses, since they were there and involved with the facts of the case,” said Stern.
Medeiros’ family reported that they were not informed until several hours after his death, and were not filled in on the details of the situation until days later — a decision that Stern said likely “came from the top.”
They later received a typed note of condolences and a $7,500 check from the Zuckerberg family.
Plaintiffs are required to submit the names of witnesses they intend to call by Dec. 11, 2023.
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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.
