Fong and son drop lawsuits
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
The feud between father and son is legally over.
With a quiet and confidential agreement, former U.S. Sen. Hiram Fong and his estranged youngest son, Marvin, have officially dismissed the lawsuits between them that ripped apart one of Hawai'i's most famous families.
Now Marvin believes it's up to him to approach his father for the first time in more than a year and take the initial step toward reconciliation.
"A lot has happened, but we're still family," Marvin said yesterday. "Since I'm the younger of the two of us, I should make the overture. You just can't go through life holding a grudge. It's not healthy for anyone."
The settlement reached last month to dismiss the lawsuits is confidential, and Marvin declined to detail the specifics yesterday.
Hiram Fong's attorney, Russell Ching, said yesterday more details are being discussed that could result in additional agreements.
"We are working on something," Ching said. "If more things ultimately are settled, it would be beneficial to everyone. But it really is premature."
The agreement to dismiss the lawsuits resolves one of the more painful chapters for Hiram Fong, 97, a self-made millionaire several times over who became America's first senator of Asian descent when Hawai'i gained statehood in 1959.
On March 7, as his health deteriorated, Fong filed for bankruptcy protection. Later that same day, the Finance Factors company he helped found in 1952 announced that Fong was resigning.
Fong blamed his financial problems on Marvin and Marvin's wife, Sandra Au Fong.
"The actions taken by my son, Marvin, and his wife, Sandra, have left me with no other options," Fong said in a statement March 7.
In a Circuit Court lawsuit last year, Marvin alleged that his father and mother, Ellyn, reneged on an agreement to option their stock in a family company — Market City Ltd. — to Marvin and Sandra.
Hiram and Ellyn Fong countered in court that they either did not sign the agreement or signed it without understanding the terms.
Another suit, by minority shareholders of Market City, alleged that Marvin and Sandra mismanaged the 87,000-square-foot Market City Shopping Center at Kapi'olani Boulevard and Harding Avenue.
The agreement reached between Marvin and his father dismisses all of the lawsuits, Marvin said, and is particularly good news for Market City Ltd.
"All the lawsuits on Market City have been dismissed with prejudice," Marvin said. "Basically, they're gone. We don't have to be concerned with them anymore, which is really a relief."
The disputes broke off personal contact between Marvin and his father, who declined comment this week through his eldest son, Hiram Jr. It also cut off contact between the patriarch and Marvin's 28- and 20-year-old sons.
For the past two Chinese New Year's celebrations at Market City, the former senator was noticeably absent from his usual duty of lighting the firecrackers.
"Yeah," Marvin said, "he likes to burn firecrackers. Gee, when was the last time we spoke? I can't remember."
Although he hasn't talked to his father in nearly a year, Marvin still gets reports on his health: The elder Fong continues his three-times-a-week dialysis treatment and still uses a walker after slipping on the steps of his 'Alewa Heights home while picking up a newspaper.
But Marvin is certain that "at 97, he's still pretty sharp."
"I think he's going to live well over 100," Marvin said. "He's a tough guy, and he's a fighter, going back to his political days. I think maybe all of this controversy has stimulated him."
Marvin said there are still many more chapters left to write about his father's life. And the next one, about forgiveness, is up to Marvin.
He's not certain how it will happen. One day soon, Marvin said, he will probably just stop by his parents' house and ask his father to talk.
"Now that the business part is settled," Marvin said, "there's an opening for reconciliation, and I hope that happens."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.
