MLP files countersuit alleging ‘false claims’ over water maintenance, pointing instead to historic drought

Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. has filed a countersuit against Kapalua Golf Courses and Luxury Homes alleging “misinformation” on water use and drought conditions. MLP says TY Management, owner of the Kapalua golf courses chose “false claims,” and says the countersuit was filed in an effort to “set the record straight.”

“The problem is not MLP’s system; the problem is there has not been enough rain in the past year to supply stream water to all off-stream users in West Maui. State law is clear: Public trust uses, such as in-stream flows and drinking water, take priority over private irrigation,” said Race Randle, CEO, Maui Land & Pineapple Company. He continued: “False claims and smear campaigns will not deter us from following state guidance or distract us from collaborating on long-term water solutions for generations to come.”

TY Management responded to Maui Now’s request for comment with an email statement saying it will continue to analyze MLP’s counterclaims. TY says “the heart of those counterclaims is MLP’s demonstrably false statement in Paragraph 164 that ‘MLP has appropriately maintained the [ditch] system.’  Everyone knows that isn’t true, as our Complaint demonstrated in picture after picture and paragraph after paragraph.  MLP’s decision to sue TY and other West Maui water users just because they dared to hold MLP accountable is another attempt by MLP to distract the courts and the public from its many failings, as documented in the Complaint.”

The MLP countersuit challenges the information presented in the initial lawsuit filed on Aug. 18, 2025, which claimed the company failed to maintain the more than century old Honokōhau Ditch System, which has led to severe water shortages and restrictions in West Maui.

That was followed by an announcement last week that the PGA Tour will not hold The Sentry at The Plantation Course at Kapalua in 2026 due to “ongoing drought conditions, water conservation requirements, agronomic conditions and logistical challenges,” according to a breaking news report filed by the Hawaiʻi Journalism Initiative.

Last week, Maui Now reported that the state Commission on Water Resource Management heard testimony from West Maui residents frustrated with “inaction” in managing delivery of water to residents and farmers in a region beset by a severe drought. During the meeting, Commissioner Chair Dawn Chang acknowledged the urgency and said the commission is not “going to hesitate to take appropriate action.”

In a statement from TY Management, the company said: “We remain clear on the facts: for years, the Commission on Water Resource Management and community members warned MLP to repair and maintain the ditch system, and MLP failed to act. The result has been preventable harm to residents, farmers, cultural practitioners, workers, small businesses and nonprofits alike.”

MLP maintains that it has appropriately maintained the ditch system and says the reduction in water available to TY is not due to any failure to do so. It asserts in the counterclaim that: “…between reduced rainfall and governmental restrictions to protect public trust uses, there is less water available for commercial private uses, including for TY’s and the Associations’ irrigation.”

MLP’s counterclaim alleges that: “As TY and the Associations rushed to use water, they also took water from each other and thereby caused each other and Hua Momona Farms the very injuries for which they blame MLP.”

Once this “improper use” was stopped, MLP claims that “TY took pictures of browning grass,” allegedly curating “a narrative for a defamatory publicity campaign.”

Read more: MLP’s answer and counterclaims

Randle said, “They used water that they were not entitled to — at the expense of our community. They prioritized lawns and putting greens over fire protection and people, putting our whole community at risk.” 

In its statement TY Management backed its claims saying: “This is not golf versus farmers — it is a systemic crisis caused by decades of neglect. Drought made things worse, but neglect is what made Maui vulnerable.”

MLP’s counterclaim says there was a “disregard of prioritized uses,” including fire protection. The company alleges that TY knowingly used “millions of gallons of water meant for fire protection” for the broader Kapalua community.

MLP is claiming defamation, negligence and public nuisance, saying TY negotiated easements from MLP to develop its own well source and storage over 15 years ago, yet failed to develop. “Now, they try to deflect blame for their years of inaction and overconsumption during a historic drought,” said Randle.

In its statement, TY Management says: “TY has stood alongside farmers and residents as co-plaintiffs, has offered to fund repairs and restore neglected wells, and continues to advocate for accountability, equity and resiliency. We will not be distracted by side claims or finger-pointing. Maui deserves solutions, and TY is committed to being part of them.”

MLP’s Randle said: “Securing Maui’s water future will take all of us doing our part. We need water solutions that benefit the broader community, not just a few wealthy individuals.”