A federal jury awarded more than $160,000 in damages to a Molokai landowner who sued Blue Hawaiian Helicopters for failing to do reasonable cleanup after a fatal tour helicopter crash on his property in Pukoo on Molokai’s East End.

The verdict was returned Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, following a two-and-a-half-week trial.

“It’s rare that juries in Hawaii make findings of intentional trespass and award punitive damages against trespassers; even rarer when it’s over failure to remove debris,” said Honolulu attorney Jim Bickerton, who represented landowner Vernon Suzuki along with attorney Steve Tannenbaum.

In a news release, Suzuki’s attorneys noted that the verdict occurred almost five years to the day of the Nov. 10, 2011, crash into a mountain ridge on Suzuki’s undeveloped land.

The pilot and all four passengers were killed in the crash, which the National Transportation Safety Board determined probably stemmed from pilot error.

Suzuki had been planning to build a residence on the property and had begun initial operations for an organic, grass-fed cattle business, according to the news release.

After the crash, Blue Hawaiian turned over responsibility for cleanup to its insurer, the German insurance company Allianz. “After two years of runaround from Allianz,” the company informed Suzuki that the property had been rendered safe, despite soil samplings that showed levels of contamination above Hawaii action levels, according to the news release.

The news release also said repeated cleanup efforts by Suzuki yielded boxes of debris, including personal belongings of the victims and numerous pieces of the helicopter that were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board. Debris was “still being found to this day,” according to the news release.

After Dec. 22, 2011, Blue Hawaiian and Allianz didn’t do any further cleanup at the crash site, the news release said. “I called and wrote and called them, time after time, and they just let the soil contamination and debris just sit there,” Suzuki said.

“Making matters still worse, Allianz eventually represented to Mr. Suzuki that he should not be concerned with the lack of cleanup because ‘Mother Nature’ would attenuate the contamination,” according to the news release.

Suzuki testified he was told the rain would wash any remaining contaminants “down the hillside.”

The adjacent property “just down the hillside” is also owned by Suzuki and contains rare ancient heiau, which the University of Hawaii and Bishop Museum have been surveying, according to the news release.

The jury awarded $125,000 in punitive damages for intentional trespass and other wrongs, as well as $36,000 in additional compensation, according to the news release.

In a statement Thursday, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters said: “We are disappointed in the jury’s decision. This was unquestionably a tragic accident, but working with federal, state and county authorities, Blue Hawaiian Helicopters followed all required protocols and procedures to thoroughly clean the crash site.”

The statement said the state Department of Health issued a “no further action required” letter on Feb. 7, 2012.

Blue Hawaiian’s statement also said the verdict doesn’t require the company to do additional cleanup, study, testing or reporting.

“The verdict clearly validates the Department of Health’s letter in 2012 that states no further action is required at the site and Blue Hawaiian Helicopters’ thorough efforts ensured the site was properly cleaned after this tragic accident,” the company’s statement said.

Judge J. Michael Seabright presided over the trial.

“Vern is very pleased that the jury understood what happened here and made a six-figure penalty that will remind Blue Hawaiian and other tour companies to clean up their messes and respect the aina just like all citizens,” Suzuki’s lawyer Tannenbaum said. “Broader than just Mr. Suzuki’s property, this case presents an important issue for the people of Molokai and the entire state of Hawaii, since it sends a message to commercial tourist aircraft operators and their insurers to respect the land from which they derive their profits, as well as the people of Hawaii and their sacred landmarks.”

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.