▪ Government Response in Maui Vacation Rental Lawsuit

The Maui News reports that the County of Maui has filed a "response" (motion to dismiss) to the federal complaint brought by the Maui Vacation Rental Association against the County.  I posted about the case here.  The complaint summarizes the claims:

This is an action for injunctive and declaratory relief against defendants, and each of them, for their conduct in dealing with the owners of property being used as Transient Vacation Rentals in the County of Maui. Plaintiff alleges procedural and substantive due process and equal protection violations, equitable estoppel, breach of express and implied contract. Plaintiff also alleges municipal liability for failure to adequately train and supervise entity employees, and for the maintenance of illegal customs and policies, both of which cause and allow constitutional violations of procedural due process, substantive due process, equal protection, and deprivation of honest government services, in violation of the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Download the Complaint (800kb pdf) here.  Shortly after the complaint was filed, the plaintiff moved for a preliminary injunction (200kb pdf). 

The County has now responded by filing a motion to dismiss (4mb pdf).  The motion asserts, among other claims, that the MVRA has no standing to sue, that the complaint does not properly allege a claim for substantive due process, that MVRA has no claim for vested rights or estoppel, and that there is no contract between the County and MVRA requiring the County to deal with MVRA fairly and in good faith.  The County also interposes several legal defenses including statute of limitations and qualified immunity.