…it’s the grass that suffers.

That seems to be the takeaway message of the story on a Ko Olina condominium dispute in today’s Star-Advertiser.

The story, by Rob Perez, tries to untangle an extremely complicated contractual dispute between Ko Olina Development, the land owner and master developer, and Centex Homes, developer of the Beach Villas at Koolina.

It’s the kind of story I usually love. Complicated with lots of available documents. At issue, according to the story, is ownership of and access to certain of the amenities, including the lobby, fitness center, and beach bar.

Unfortunately, although making reference to court documents and other records, the story doesn’t really make use of them to help tell the story and make sense of the competing claims. Instead, we’re offered “he said…she said” versions, an approach which is ultimately unsatisfying.

Many residents who bought into the condo project, touted as a world-class luxury development when it opened in 2008, said they believed the swimming pools, fitness center, lounge, lobby, gardens and other common facilities would be owned by the homeowners association, much as they are in most other condo complexes.

Ko Olina developer Jeff Stone responded.

But Stone said the sales documents the buyers received from Centex clearly stated that the so-called limited common areas could be turned over to a commercial operator, and that the plan all along was for his company to get ownership.

It might have been useful for the article to include quotes from relevant documents rather than rely on presenting the conflicting accounts.

I immediately thought of the developer’s Final Condominium Public Report filed with the Real Estate Commission.

I didn’t have time this morning to go over this carefully, but there are clear warning signs for condo buyers. In Exhibit D, several “commercial apartments” are described, with the percentage of common interest associated with each. These “commercial apartments” include the front desk, member’s club & toilets, beach bar, and other facilities, which appear to be distinct from the condominium’s “common elements” shared by all owners.

Then there’s the federal lawsuit between Stone’s Ko Olina Development and Centex Homes, the developer.

Here’s how the story reports on the case:

But late last year, after a judge ruled on a federal lawsuit filed by Stone’s Ko Olina Resort Development LLC against Centex, the builder sold the lobby, lounge, fitness center and beach bar to Stone’s company for $1.

Stone is appealing to gain even more assets.

But clearly there’s a lot more going on.

I just downloaded the original complaint, and the eventual findings of fact and conclusions of law.

If that’s not enough, browse the docket and you’ll get some inkling of the additional complexity in the case.

And what’s most interesting is the behind-the-scenes look at the development process that this case provides, where layers of obscure agreements and commitments between development interests are being continually amended and renegotiated as new deals are contemplated, negotiated, or abandoned, all behind the scenes and out of view of the people who are buying the condominium apartments.

I wrote about another one of these cases several years ago (“The war at home“), where condo owners again found themselves at the end of the line in dealing with problems created by the developers.

In any case, I’m glad Perez took a stab at the story. And I came away thinking that there’s an even better story still untold.