Former Damien president and school agree on confidential settlement after whistleblower lawsuit

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A whistleblower lawsuit filed against Damien Memorial School by its former president has ended with a settlement.

Former school president and CEO Arnold Laanui told Hawaii News Now the specific terms, including a dollar amount, are confidential.

In his lawsuit filed last year, he accused the school of wrongful termination and retaliation.

“It’s the optimal settlement at this point in time since we were able to achieve just about everything as far as the settlement goes,” said Laanui.

Laanui’s allegations were explosive, including a group sex incident on campus involving football players and a female student. He said the alumni association was violating ILH rules by paying cash scholarships to star football players, and he accused coaches Anthony Tuitele and Ron Dalmacio of taking money from the school.

Laanui got immediate backlash, the board terminated him, and the coaches were reinstated.

“We’ve come to an arrangement where I can kind of move forward. As far as the other allegations which were the initial part of my complaint, those are best addressed to Damien,” said Laanui.

View Laanui’s written statement and release.

Hawaii News Now asked if the settlement was to avoid more costly litigation or avoid potentially exposing more embarrassing things at the school.

“Another great question, but one best reserved for Damien,” said Laanui. “I believe it does give me an opportunity to now set the record straight about all the wonderful things we had done there.”

The 57-year-old is a 1986 graduate of Damien and is now consulting. After 18 months leading Damien and then legal turmoil, he said his faith and support got deeper.

“That I found incredibly surprising. I didn’t realize how many supporters that helped. Much like a marathon, there are aid stations along the miles,” he said.

Hawaii News Now reached out to Damien Memorial School and its attorney for comment. We are waiting to hear back.