Billionaire sues real estate firm

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

Japanese billionaire Gensiro Kawamoto yesterday filed a lawsuit in federal court here, blaming a real estate management company for his mounting legal problems in trying to sell 570 rental units that he owns in California.

Prosecutors in Santa Rosa and Sacramento, Calif., have said they believe that Kawamoto tried to evict tenants after they began complaining about excessive mold and health problems they believe are related to the mold.

Some of the homes have been "red-tagged" by county officials because the mold has made them uninhabitable, according to Dani Jo Handell, of the consumer law and environmental division of the Sonoma County district attorney's office.

The Sonoma County district attorney's office has opened an investigation into how the mold developed in the homes, and what role — if any — Kawamoto's Honolulu attorney played in the problem.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Honolulu yesterday by the law firm of Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing on behalf of Kawamoto claims that the property-management firm CB Richard Ellis Inc. failed to properly notify Kawamoto's representatives in Hawai'i of complaints lodged by his tenants in California.

Officials from the property-management firm could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit contends that Kawamoto's representatives in Hawai'i were not kept fully informed of such problems as faulty electrical plugs, leaking roofs, mold and potentially defective furnaces.

The lawsuit asks for money from the property-management firm, with the amount to be determined at trial.

Carol Asai-Sato, who represents Kawamoto through the Alston Floyd law firm, said recently that any of the problems brought to the attention of his representatives in Honolulu, including allegations of mold and water intrusion, have been addressed.

She said most of the alleged mold problems seem to be the result of "simple housekeeping problems."