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About
Us
Stubenberg
& Durrett's driving philosophy is to obtain the best result
possible for our clients as efficiently as possible. The following
highlights some of the representative matters illustrating
our philosophy of getting the best result for our clients:
• We
represented the Swire Group, one of the largest British-owned
companies in Hong Kong, for many years in connection with
all matters relating to the development of a large condominium
project in Kaneohe, Hawaii. During the course of the development,
three adjoining property owners who claimed their scenic ocean
views were blocked by the project instituted legal action
to attempt to have a substantial portion of the project torn
down. An adverse ruling from a citizens commission necessitated
an appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court. In a complete reversal
of the administrative ruling, the State Supreme Court entered
Judgment in favor of our clients and later selected our firm's
Opening Brief as the best example of appellate writing from
the State of Hawaii in connection with the annual Scribe's
Brief Writing Competition sponsored by the American Society
of Writers on Legal Subjects.
• We
represented the owners of Duty Free Shoppers DFS, the largest
duty free retail operator in the world, in assembling an entire
block of prime commercial real estate in central Waikiki.
By using various legal strategies, we were able to assemble
the block in total confidentiality and without instigating
a dramatic price rise, thereby saving our client millions
of dollars.
• After
construction of the flagship Waikiki Duty Free Building, a
prior owner of one of the parcels under the building filed
suit against the owners of the Duty Free building claiming
that the building exceeded a height restriction in its deed.
The owner subsequently made excessive monetary demands from
the owners of the Duty Free building. When the owners of the
Duty Free building refused to accede to the demands of the
plaintiffs, a State lower court judge ordered that a portion
of the building be torn down. The tear down would have cost
millions of dollars. We were successful in obtaining a total
reversal of that decision in a landmark ruling from the Hawaii
Supreme Court. That case is now considered the leading case
in the State with respect to restrictive covenants.
• A
few years ago, the Hawaii campus of Brigham Young University
was sued by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund alleging thousands
of violations of the Federal Clean Water Act at its Hawaii
sewage treatment plant. We were able to negotiate capital
improvements in lieu of fines and penalties in order to settle
the matter for a fraction of what other defendants have had
to pay in similar circumstances.
• We
successfully obtained from the Honolulu City Council a zoning
change from "residential" to "commercial"
of our client's property in the upscale Waialae-Kahala district
of East Honolulu in order to permit the construction of a
new office building. The only successful "up-zoning"
of its type in this exclusive residential area for many years
was accomplished over the vigorous opposition of neighborhood
groups.
• We
represented the borrower in one of the first ever yen-based
real estate financings in the United States. The transaction
involved more than 9,000,000,000 Yen and pertained to a complex
retail development in Waikiki.
• The
firm represented the Bank of California in a $70,000,000 loan
to the Kapiolani Health Care Systems in connection with the
purchase of Pali Momi Hospital in Aiea, Hawaii.
• We
represented National Housing Corp. in connection with the
acquisition, refinancing, and sale of the massive Kalele Kai
condominium project in Hawaii Kai, in a transaction valued
at approximately $70,000,000.
• In
1999, we represented a consortium of fifteen U.S. and Taiwan
lenders with respect to the $85,000,000 construction financing
of the Republic
of Nauru's Hawaiki Tower project.
• In
a very publicized proceeding, we recently obtained all the
land use entitlements necessary to convert the late Doris
Duke's magnificent Diamond Head estate, Shangri-La, into an
art and cultural center. The estate will become a major public
attraction in Hawaii.
Hawaii's growth has been exciting and dynamic in the years
since the firm's founding. Our mission is to meet our clients
needs as they participate in their dynamic future.
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