Updated at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Maui County prevails in court against vacation rentals
Advertiser Staff
HONOLULU — Federal Judge J. Michael Seabright on Monday dismissed a complaint brought against Maui County by the Maui Vacation Rental Association.The complaint, which named the County of Maui and Planning Director Jeff Hunt as defendants, sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the county from enforcing its zoning laws against transient vacation rentals that were operating without the proper permits.
MVRA's complaint claimed that the county had entered into a legally binding contract with its members not to enforce against TVR's while their permit applications were being processed.
The motion to dismiss was filed by the County of Maui on Oct. 28 and argued on Dec. 3. The judge found that the three claims based on contract theories (breach of express and implied contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and equitable estoppel) had no legal basis. Therefore, those claims were dismissed outright, and cannot be refiled.
The ruling also prevents the MVRA from refiling any allegations based on substantive or procedural due process grounds. The order allows MVRA the option of filing an amended complaint, restricted to the issues of equal protection and first amendment
