Michael Carroll strives tirelessly to obtain results for his clients. He works closely with his clients to understand their objectives, finds proactive solutions to problems, and battles and negotiates hard to resolve disputes to obtain the best results for his clients. He has a passion for helping his clients resolve their legal problems.
Mr. Carroll's practice areas include real estate and construction litigation, complex business litigation, and land use. His clients include developers, contractors, corporate and business entities, governmental entities, and private individuals.
Examples of Mr. Carroll's work include:
- Representing Kapalua Bay, LLC, a joint venture between Marriott International, Exclusive Resorts (SM), LLC, and Maui Land & Pineapple, Inc., concerning a dispute between the general contractor and electrical subcontractor relating to a construction project of a luxury residential and club project known as the Residences and Ritz Carlton Club at Kapalua, located on Maui, Hawaii.
- Representing the State of Hawaii, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, with respect to various claims involving a developer and contractor on four large development projects on three islands, in which the developer and contractor defaulted on the projects and filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Carroll successfully negotiated a settlement with the bonding company to resolve all claims.
- Representing Bridge Aina Le'a, LLC ("Bridge"), the owner of approximately 1,060 acres of undeveloped property in South Kohala, State and County of Hawaii, in various land use proceedings relating to the entitlements for the property.
- Representing the Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki Corp. and others against various claims asserted by parties claiming to have an interest in various hotels and resort properties held by our client. We successfully prevailed on a motion to dismiss the complaint, and then prevailed on the subsequent appeal.
- Representing Bridge Capital (USVI), LLC in a foreclosure action against Waiakea Villas, LLC, the owner of the Waiakea Villas, a multi-unit condominium complex in Hilo, Hawaii. We successfully represented Bridge in obtaining summary judgment in the foreclosure action in which Bridge ultimately credit bid on the property and took title to 162 of the approximate 300 units on the property.
- Representing Kalaka Nui, Inc., the demolition and site work subcontractor on a large military housing project at Hickam Air Force Base, concerning various claims against the general contractor on the project. Our office was able to successfully negotiate a settlement of the various claims with the general contractor.
- Representing various owners at the Foster Tower, a condominium tower in Waikiki, against the restaurant tenant and others for nuisance and other claims relating to the construction of a scrubber unit outside the restaurant. The scrubber emitted cooking exhaust that impacted the units with odor. Our office was able to successfully negotiate a settlement agreement in which the defendants agreed to remove the scrubber and install a new ventilation system in which the exhaust did not impact any of the units.
- Representing the designer of a pool in Guam who was sued by an individual that was severely injured when he dove into the swimming pool. The plaintiff claimed that the pool was negligently designed because, among other things, the steps in the pool were allegedly not clearly visible and there was allegedly inadequate signage. As a result of key depositions, we negotiated a favorable settlement for our client.
- Representing the architect and engineer that designed a roadway. Our clients were sued in a wrongful death action stemming from an automobile accident on the roadway. We prevailed on various Motions for Summary Judgment and were able to settle the case favorably for our client.
- Representing multiple contractors in various construction disputes, mechanic's liens, pass-through claims, direct claims, and other actions.
- Representing multiple property owners concerning various disputes relating to purchase and sale agreements, disclosures, title claims, encroachment issues, and other various issues affecting ownership.
Mr. Carroll has also authored several publications:
- Mr. Carroll was the co-author of "How to Litigate Claims of Undisclosed Defects in Real Estate Transactions in Hawai'i" (2003). This publication outlined various legal issues concerning undisclosed defects with Hawaii lawyers as the intended audience.
- Mr. Carroll was the author of "The Development of Native Hawaiian Self-Determination" 33 J. Marshall L. Rev. 639 (Spring 2000), a law review article that discussed the issues concerning Native Hawaiian Self Determination.
Mr. Carroll also successfully maintains his passion for work and his passion for surfing. WestlawNext has featured Mr. Carroll and his approach to work-life balance in an article called "Mike: The Surfer." You can read the article here.
Mr. Carroll is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. He then attended John Marshall Law School, where he graduated Cum Laude, and was on the Dean's List all six semesters. During law school, Mr. Carroll was active in the Law Review, acting as the Lead Articles Editor, responsible for editing articles submitted and prepared by legal professionals and scholars. Mr. Carroll was also active in Moot Court, and was a Semi-Finalist in the Thomas Tang Moot Court competition, a national competition. He was also the President of the Asian American Law Student's Association, where he worked closely on issues affecting the Asian American community. After graduating from law school, Mr. Carroll served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Corinne K.A. Watanabe, Associate Judge with the Intermediate Court of Appeals, before joining Bays Lung Rose & Holma.
