A dream home on Oahu’s North Shore became a nightmare when it crumbled into the ocean — and now the state of Hawaii is suing the homeowner, Josh VanEmmerik, for letting it happen.
Footage captured by stunned locals shows VanEmmerik’s once-luxurious oceanfront house breaking apart and being swallowed by the waves.
The wreckage left debris strewn across a public beach, prompting an immediate outcry from neighbors and state officials alike.
The state isn’t letting VanEmmerik off the hook easily. According to their lawsuit, debris from the collapse — including concrete, wood and broken glass — now litters the beach, which is public land.
Officials are demanding he clean up the mess and are seeking financial damages to restore the area to its natural state.
“This is the beach that my daughter plays on. It’s literally covered in broken glass,” one local, Kevin Makana Emery, wrote on Instagram under a video of the shocking scene.
VanEmmerik, 31, who owns a bar in Kailua, had already been slapped with a hefty $77,000 fine last year for violations related to erosion control at his home.
VanEmmerik purchased the home for $1 million in 2021 with the listing description warning of erosion. After remodeling the property, he listed the home a couple of years later for $2.5 million.
Before it came tumbling into the ocean, the price recently dropped to $2 million.
The homeowner had resorted to desperate measures to save the property, placing sandbags, concrete and rocks in a futile attempt to battle the encroaching ocean. But his efforts didn’t comply with state regulations, and officials say he failed to remove the unauthorized structures in time.
“Private landowners take a risk when they allow structures to be so close to the shoreline,” Deputy Attorney General Danica Swenson told Hawaii News Now.
The lawsuit argues that the debris became “unwanted material” on state-owned land the moment the house collapsed.
All beaches in Hawaii up to the high tide mark are public property, and the state is determined to clean up the wreckage for the safety of its residents.
Locals are furious, both at VanEmmerik and the state, with some accusing the government of dragging its feet.
“This situation has been going on for years now. Why are you NOT here cleaning this up?” Emery wrote, criticizing the lack of action by state officials.
Longtime residents, like neighbor Ken Bradshaw, said the collapse was inevitable, given the severe erosion in the area.
“Erosion’s going to take place … I warned him myself three times — do not buy this property,” Bradshaw told Island News at the time.
Now, with the wreckage of VanEmmerik’s dream home washed into the ocean, the state is moving to clean up the mess — and make sure he pays for it.
Demolition crews were spotted tearing down the remnants of the house, but the damage to the beach remains a sore spot for locals.
The state hopes to restore the beach to its former glory, but it could be a costly and lengthy process.
