HONOLULU (AP) – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Friday that he was dropping lawsuits seeking to buy out Native Hawaiians who own small pieces of land within his sprawling estate on the island of Kauai, promising to work with the community on “a new approach.”
Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, said in a letter to the community published in The Garden Island newspaper that they were ending the cases “to find a better path forward.”
“Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead,” the letter said of the legal move to clear up disputed or undetermined land ownership in Hawaii. “Now that I understand the issues better, it’s clear we made a mistake.”
A spokesman for Zuckerberg confirmed the couple sent the letter.
The 14 parcels mostly belong to Native Hawaiian families awarded the land during the mid-19th century, when private property was established in Hawaii. Many original owners died without wills. Ownership today is split among hundreds of descendants, many of whom are unaware of their shares.