Hawaiian Springs files for bankruptcy

Hawaiian Springs LLC, which distributes natural artesian water from the Big Island, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization Friday as the state was wrapping up a seventh straight year of declining bankruptcy cases.

The water bottling company, formerly the “official water” of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese baseball league, listed both its assets and liabilities in a range of $1 million to $10 million. Its 20 largest unsecured creditors have claims totaling about $4 million, with the Dodgers’ claim of $682,000 topping the list.

On Nov. 2, 2016, the Dodgers sued Hawaiian Springs over a marketing contract dispute in Los Angeles County Superior Court. A trial is scheduled for June 25. But there’s no indication in the early court filings that the lawsuit led to the bankruptcy filing.

Bankruptcy attorney Chuck Choi, who is representing Hawaiian Springs, declined to comment.

Hawaiian Springs’ filing punctuated an eventful year for bankruptcies that was highlighted by Island Air’s Chapter 11 filing in October, which was converted the following month to a Chapter 7 liquidation after the state’s second-largest carrier shut down Nov. 10.

The year ended with 1,352 bankruptcy filings, down 2.2 percent from 1,382 in 2016 and the lowest number of cases since 955 were filed in 2006, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Hawaii. The numbers were artificially low in 2006 because of a rush to file before October 2005 when a new law took effect that made it more time-consuming and costly to seek bankruptcy protection.

“My office filed more cases this year than last, but I’m not surprised Hawaii bankruptcies were down overall because 2017 was a good year for the national economy,” Honolulu bankruptcy attorney Greg Dunn said. “Profits are up and the economy is much stronger. The Hawaii economy also seems stronger.”

Hawaiian Springs, which distributes its water throughout the state, the mainland and Asia, began bottling in February 1995. The company, founded by beverage entrepreneur Marcus Bender, says on its website that its proprietary source is on the slopes of Mauna Loa in the Puna district. Hawaiian Springs says the water is drawn from an artesian well in Keaau and claims its product is the “only authentic natural artesian water” from Hawaii.

The company, which has 15 employees, was purchased in 2015 by the holding company Laulima International from the Hadley Trust. Hawaiian Springs’ CEO is Tamiko Broms.

In terms of personal bankruptcies, Dunn said he’s seeing them most often come from people overextending themselves with credit and money owed on student loans.

“There’s been an increase in student loans, so I’m doing more Chapter 13s (which give people a three- to five-year period to work out a repayment plan),” Dunn said. “Students loans are generally not dischargeable in most cases, with one exception: if there is undue hardship and the situation makes the person unable to pay their debts.”

He said he foresees 2018 following the same path as in 2017 regarding the number of bankruptcies filed statewide.

“I think bankruptcies may either stay the same or decline again,” he said. “I don’t sense right now we’re going into another market crash. I think it will be steady.”