CLICK for larger imageFor Neil Harl, distinguished professor emeritus in agriculture and economics at Iowa State University, a request to appear at a hearing March 12 in Ankeny on antitrust issues in the seed industry was compelling enough to lure him back from his winter retreat in Hawaii.
“It was tempting to stay away,” Harl said from Hawaii Tuesday after the announcement that he would appear on a panel at the day-long session that will examine competition in the seed industry. “But for years I have urged the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to be more aggressive about competitive issues in agriculture.”
“Now,” Harl continued, “we apparently have an administration that is willing to be more aggressive about these issues and I felt that I couldn’t turn down their request.”
The controversy over competition in the seed business exploded into the open last summer with acrimony and lawsuits between Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred, attracting the attentions of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Justice Department.
The owner of a Maui financial services loan company filed for personal bankruptcy the same day as his company, claiming nearly $23.8 million in unsecured debt.
Lloyd Y. Kimura’s Chapter 7 filing late last month came on the same day as his company, Maui Industrial Loan & Finance Co., also filed for Chapter 7
Much of the unsecured liability Kimura listed — $16.2 million — is duplicated in Maui Industrial Loan & Finance’s filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.
The Wailuku-based firm ran afoul of state regulators last year and was ordered by state Commissioner of Financial Institutions Nick Griffin to cease taking deposits or borrowing money.
Complaint claims Kimura used account access to loot couple By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer
POSTED: February 10, 2010
WAILUKU – Another creditor has filed a million-dollar lawsuit against Wailuku certified public accountant Lloyd Kimura. Unlike previous claims, this one also names his accounting firm, Lloyd Y. Kimura CPA.
Kimura filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago, listing debts of about $23 million. His wholly-owned industrial loan company, Maui Finance, also filed for bankruptcy.
Among the creditors in both bankruptcies were Ronald and Miriam Jacintho, owners of Rojac Trucking, Rojac Construction and Jacro Lowbed Services, who were listed as $1 million creditors of Maui Finance. In their lawsuit filed earlier this month in 2nd Circuit Court, they claim their losses were higher, although the complaint did not disclose the total.
This complaint, filed for the Jacinthos and their Dairy Road Property LLC by attorney Lyle Hosoda, differs from other lawsuits by also alleging that Kimura, as their accountant, had access to their accounts and looted them.
WAILUKU – Certified public accountant Lloyd Kimura is facing a flood of lawsuits for unpaid loans, foreclosures and for claims of mismanagement by buyers of a commercial condominium he developed and managed in the Wailuku Industrial Park.
Neither Kimura nor his lawyer, Phil Lowenthal, returned phone messages seeking comment.
In November, the state Division of Financial Institutions ordered Maui Industrial (also known as Maui Finance, or MILFCO) to stop taking deposits. Kimura has owned and managed Maui Finance since 1969.
Even the wettest spot in Hawai’i — Mount Wai’ale’ale — wasn’t so wet last year as the state experienced below-normal rainfall in all but a few spots.
Rain gauges at the Kaua’i mountaintop measured 308 inches in 2009, 73 percent of normal levels, and a scant 3 inches in December, only 7 percent of normal. It was Mount Wai’ale’ale’s third-driest December on record, according to National Weather Service data.
In Honolulu, only the O’ahu Forest National Wildlife Refuge experienced above-normal rainfall in 2009 — 214 inches. Totals for most sites in central and west O’ahu were less than 50 percent of their annual averages.
The December rainfall numbers were even worse, with most O’ahu gauges measuring a third or less of normal rainfall averages, a trend that has continued into the new year.
The U.S. Drought Monitor reports that 99 percent of the state is experiencing "abnormally dry" or worse conditions, compared with 37 percent at the same time last year. More than a third of the state is suffering "severe to exceptional" drought.
On Maui and the Big Island, the U.S. Department of Agriculture last month designated the two counties as natural disaster areas so farmers could seek relief for crop losses.
