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Commercial and Real Estate Litigation

Practice Areas

Commercial Litigation Constitutional Appeals Government Regulation and Taking of Property Leasehold Condemnation Quiet Title Litigation Real Estate Litigation Rent Renegotiation and Arbitration

Group Description

The Commercial and Real Estate Litigation practice group provides a full range of litigation and dispute resolution services to our clients. We have extensive experience in negotiations, mediations, arbitrations, and litigation in federal and state courts. Our areas of specific expertise include: Commercial and business disputes. We have extensive experience and competence in representing all forms of business entities and individuals in matters ranging from antitrust to zoning disputes. Eminent domain and forced leased-fee conversions. Our practice includes statutory condemnations, forced conversions of the leased-fee interest of single-family residential lots under Hawaii statutes, forced conversions of leased-fee interests of condominium and cooperative units under local ordinances, state and local government rent control statutes and ordinances, and inverse and regulatory takings. We prevailed in litigation striking down the attempt by the City and County of Honolulu to allow zoning by initiative. We also successfully challenged two of the City and County of Honolulu's legislative schemes seeking to impose rent controls on residential leasehold condominium and cooperative units. Mandatory and contractual lease rent negotiations and arbitrations. We are also engaged in the representation of clients in lease rent arbitrations. In some instances, these arbitrations present a complex range of factual and legal issues such as the arbitrability of the issues in dispute, the definition of the interest to be valued, the impact of state and local government regulations on the value of the relevant property interest, and lease interpretation. We have been engaged in arbitrations relating to single family residences, multi-family units and projects, and commercial, industrial, and resort/hotel properties. Our group is an interdisciplinary one, drawing its members attorneys with expertise in litigation, real estate law, and tax. We work closely with accountants, appraisers, archeologists, historians, cultural, land use, and zoning consultants, economists, financial consultants, and valuation experts, and experts in relevant disciplines to provide quality services to the clients of the firm.