Hilton mold lawsuit settlement approved
 


Pacific Business News (Honolulu) - 3:24 PM HAST Monday A Honolulu judge approved a settlement worth $1.83 million for guests of the Hilton Hawaiian Village who stayed in the mold-contaminated Kalia Tower in 2002.

First Circuit Court Judge Eden Elizabeth Hifo approved the deal Monday between Hilton Hotels Corp. (NYSE: HLT) and 3,058 people who were hotel guests between June 14 and July 23, 2002.

Under the terms of the settlement, Hilton will pay either $150 in travel coupons or $50 in cash for each night of the guests's stay. If the claims don't exceed $900,000, Hilton will give the remaining travel coupons to the American Red Cross.

Kalia Tower had been open for less than a year when mold was found in some of the rooms, the apparent result of faults in the air conditioning system.

The 315-room tower was closed for nearly 14 months and reopened in September 2003. Hilton placed the cost of repairs and lost room revenue at $55 million and sued the architects and contractors who worked on the project.
The settlement of the class-action suit was announced by two Honolulu law firms, Davis Levin Livingston Grande and Price Okamoto Himeno & Lum, which represented the guests.

The firms said the settlement does not include attorneys' fees, which are to be decided by a judge after a hearing in July.

Cynthia Rankin, a spokeswoman for Hilton Hawaiian Village, said she did not have an immediate comment on the settlement.
 
 
 
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