Olson Trust drops lawsuit against Naniloa’s top brass

The Edmund C. Olson Trust has withdrawn its lawsuit against two co-owners of the Grand Naniloa Hotel.

Back in September, the Olson Trust filed a lawsuit against Ed Bushor and Stuart Miller, respectively the president and CEO of Tower Development, a company that is the primary partner in WHR LLC, the corporate entity that owns the Naniloa.

In the lawsuit, the trust alleged that Bushor and Miller had violated a contract with Olson that prohibited Tower from developing any properties that could compete with the Naniloa.

Tower had submitted to the Department of Land and Natural Resources a pair of development proposals for the former Uncle Billy’s Hilo Bay Hotel and the Country Club Condominium Hotel, both located, like the Naniloa, on Banyan Drive.

The suit argued that those proposals, which were made without the approval of the trust, violated the agreement.

However, in mid-June, the Olson Trust filed a notice withdrawing the suit without prejudice. The terse notice declares the claims against Bushor and Miller “moot” and makes no further comment.

Bushor had previously told the Board of Land and Natural Resources that Tower was seeking an out-of-court settlement agreement with the trust that would remove the it as a partner in the Naniloa.

Other problems persist for Tower, however. The company faces potential bankruptcy proceedings after the BLNR last month denied a request by Bushor to approve a $62 million loan to refinance its current $50 million mortgage.