Former state Sen. Matt Matsunaga has filed a lawsuit against former state Sen. Cal Kawamoto, who is represented in the case by current state Rep. Alex Sonson.

The lawsuit, filed yesterday, concerns a dispute over control of the Waipahu Community Adult Day Health Center and Youth Day Care Center, which Kawamoto founded in 2003 and where he works as executive director.

Matsunaga filed the suit on behalf of a group he says is the legally constituted board of directors of the center, naming Kawamoto and two former board members as defendants.

Matsunaga, the son of former U.S. Sen. Spark Matsunaga, declined comment yesterday on the merits of the case, saying his clients have not authorized him to discuss it.

Sonson said yesterday afternoon the dispute involves an effort by Kawamoto to evict a tenant of the center, Health for All, for nonpayment of rent.

Health For All is run by another member of the center's board of directors, Dr. Richard Ikeda, according to Sonson.

"It's unfortunate that it has come to this," Sonson said from his law office in Waipahu.

"We're going to deal with it in the best way we can," he added.

In April, Kawamoto filed an eviction complaint against Health For All in District Court, but that complaint was dismissed because Kawamoto is not licensed to practice law, according to the suit filed yesterday.

Last month, Sonson re-filed the eviction complaint, which is now pending.

According to Matsunaga's lawsuit, a special meeting of the board of directors was called May 16 in which several directors resigned and new members were elected.

The new board then denied Kawamoto the authority to carry out the eviction.

On May 29, Kawamoto called another special meeting which included members of the previous board who had previously resigned, the suit alleged.

"Prior to convening the unauthorized meeting, Kawamoto caused 'minutes' of the meeting to be drafted," the lawsuit charged.

Those who attended signed the minutes, which said that the previous May 16 meeting was "null and void and actions taken invalid."

Kawamoto, who served in the state Senate for 10 years before losing a re-election bid in 2004, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Sonson, D-35th (Waipahu-Crestview), announced last year he is running for Kawamoto's old seat in the Senate, now occupied by Sen. Clarence Nishihara, D-18th (Waipahu, Crestview, Pearl City).