State Supreme Court upholds Land Board fine against Pflueger
James Pflueger spoke with his attorneys before the court convened this morning. Pflueger changed plea at Circuit Court in Lihue.
The Hawaii Supreme Court on Friday upheld a state board’s decision to assess $4 million in penalties against retired auto dealer James Pflueger for runoff from his property that damaged a beach and coral reef on Kauai’s north shore.
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources assessed the penalty in 2005 on Pflueger’s Pilaa 400 LLC.
The board found that the company’s unauthorized grading and other work resulted in the 2001 mudflows into the ocean waters.
In 2012, the state appeals court upheld the board’s decision. The high court affirmed the appeals court’s ruling.
Pflueger is scheduled to be sentenced April 16 in Kauai Circuit Court on a felony charge of reckless endangering related to the 2006 Ka Loko dam breach that led to the deaths of seven people.
