Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to reconsider lawsuits amid backlash from residents

By Staff Writer | Jan 27, 2017 04:08 AM EST

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg would most probably gain more "likes" from Hawaii. Zuckerberg suddenly had a change of heart regarding the lawsuits he filed against local residents.

After a series of backlash from local residents last week, Mark Zuckerberg is now reconsidering the lawsuits that he filed that forces residents to sell their lands, CNBC reports. As Mail Online reported, Zuckerberg bought two huge pieces of land totaling 700 acres in Kauai's North Shore for $100 million back in 2014.

"Based on feedback from the local community, we are reconsidering the quiet title process and discussing how to move forward," Zuckerberg said in a statement on Tuesday night.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, frequently visits Kauai and has fallen in love with the breathtaking view in the island. The 700-acre land Zuckerberg bought consists of two large lands that includes Pila's Beach, which is an isolated 393-acre swathe of land with a pristine white sand beach, and an adjacent 357-acre land called Kahu'aina Plantation.

When Mark Zuckerberg bought the 700-acre island, the Facebook CEO caught the ire of local residents in the island when he put up a six-foot tall wall around his property. The wall Zuckerberg put up obscures the breathtaking view of the ocean from a public road, which have always been readily accessible for local residents and as well as tourists before Zuckerberg bought the property.

To make matters worse, Mark Zuckerberg filed lawsuits aimed at forcing local residents to sell their land at a public court auction to the highest bidder. The point of contention in the lawsuits are almost a dozen small parcels that are within Zuckerberg's Kauai property. The small parcels total slightly more than 8 acres and are owned by Kamaaina families who have rights to cross Zuckerberg's private property.

The lawsuit Mark Zuckerberg filed is known as "quiet title and partition". These types of lawsuits are not uncommon in Hawaii, but even with a judge's order and financial compensation, forcing residents to sell their land that has been in their families for generations can be distasteful.

More Sections