19 January 2017, 17:46 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – "To find a better path forward, we are dropping our quiet title actions and will work together with the community on a new approach. We understand that for native Hawaiians, kuleana are sacred and the quiet title process can be difficult. We want to make this right, talk with the community, and find a better approach," Zuckerberg said in an open letter, as quoted by The Garden Island newspaper on Friday.
In December, Zuckerberg filed eight lawsuits against hundreds of people who have partial rights to kuleana lands on his estate, aiming to pay them for their land.
The lands were granted to island residents by the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1850 and many of the current owners are unaware of their rights to the land as there was often no proper documentation of inheritance.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife bought the 700-acre estate on Kauai island in 2014, for $100 million. The land includes over a dozen plots that were partitioned in the 1850s.
