In yet another example of a bully board gone bad, in April of 2012, a Hawaii couple was awarded nearly $3.9 million in damages after a Maui jury found they had been subjected to threats, harassment, and intimidation in a dispute with their condo association.
Owners Jim and Nancy Bevill sued their association, its board of directors, the resident manager, and a handyman– who had a criminal record and claimed to have ties with organized crime — for what was described by their attorney as a “campaign of intimidation” that lasted for six long years.
After speaking up about abuses at the Ke Nani Kai Condominium in Maunaloa, the couple allegedly was systematically targeted for abuse. Their family pets were killed, their property was vandalized, someone tried to run their car off of the road, their automobiles were intentionally hit with another vehicle, their tires were punctured, and the sides of their cars were scraped and keyed. They were also subjected to verbal death threats.
And if that wasn’t enough, the handyman repeatedly made lewd and graphic sexual displays with his genitalia in front of Nancy Bevill when she was home alone. Attorney Terry Revere described the Bevills’ experience as “the West Molokai version of Lord of the Flies.”
The case lasted for four painful and tumultuous years, involved an eight-week trial, and racked up an estimated $1.5 million in combined attorney’s fees. According to the Maui News, the verdict included $500,000 in general damages awarded the Bevills and more than $3 million in punitive damages to be paid by the board of directors and the condo association, as well as by three members of the board individually, the former resident manager, and the handyman. The verdict sends a strong message to associations to resolve their disputes early and avoid protracted legal action whenever possible.
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