Mark Zuckerberg Is Suing A Lot Of Hawaiians

Back in 2014, Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg put $100 of his money into 700 acres of beachfront property in Hawaii’s island of Kauai.

According to the Honolulu Star Advertiser, he is now suing a few hundred Hawaiians who still have legal-ownership claims to parts of his vacation estate through their ancestors.

On December 30th, three holding companies controlled by Zuckerberg filed eight lawsuits in local court against families who collectively inherited 14 parcels of land through the Kuleana Act, a Hawaiian law established in 1850 that for the first time gave natives the right to own the land that they lived on.

Out of the whopping 700 acres that Zuckerberg now owns, these 14 parcels only make up 8.04 of them. However, the law still gives any direct family member of a parcel’s original owner the right to enter the otherwise private compound.

The eight quiet title suits are intended to identify all property owners and give them the ability to sell their ownership stakes at auction, according to Keoni Shultz, an attorney representing Zuckerberg.

Many people have no idea they even have a claim until action is taken against them in court.

“It is common in Hawaii to have small parcels of land within the boundaries of a larger tract, and for the title to these smaller parcels to have become broken or clouded over time,” stated Shultz to Business Insider.

“In some cases, co-owners may not even be aware of their interests. Quiet title actions are the standard and prescribed process to identify all potential co-owners, determine ownership, and ensure that, if there are other co-owners, each receives appropriate value for their ownership share.”

Disclaimer: We have no position in Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and have not been compensated for this article.