Hawaiian Condo Tower Mired In Litigation Over Water Damage Claim

A tangled mess of litigation surrounding the construction of what has been dubbed the most sophisticated residence in Hawaii just got bigger. The developer of the 36-story Waiea condominium tower at Ward Village in Kakaako filed a lawsuit Thursday against seven insurance companies over their treatment of an extensive water damage claim before the building was finished late last year. Howard Hughes Corp. contends in the suit that the insurers are trying to avoid covering more than $1.5 million in damage caused by rain. The insurers contend that a deductible in excess of the damage value applies because the rain was from a tropical storm.