When Annette Nahinu died in July, the future of the La Mariana Sailing Club and tiki bar restaurant that she built and operated for more than 50 years was in doubt.

The 93-year-old Nahinu was not married, had no heirs and had entrusted the day-to-day operations of the club and restaurant to her manager, Judith Calma. Upon her death, Nahinu believed, La Mariana would continue operating as usual, with her trust holding the stock in the company.

But eight months before she died, Nahinu reached an operating and management agreement with Grace International, a firm headed by John Mendoza, that called for Nahinu's interest in La Mariana to be sold to Mendoza for $1. Court documents show that Nahinu indeed signed the agreement, but there are conflicting opinions as to whether she was mentally sound when she put her name to the document.

Edward Sanpei, Nahinu's attorney, argues that his client didn't remember signing such a contract. He added that Nahinu never would have agreed to sell her La Mariana at such a low price, unless she was coerced to do so.

A year earlier, he said, Nahinu agreed to sell La Mariana to Mendoza for $3 million, but that deal was canceled by Mendoza because he said he was unable to secure financing to acquire the property because of the short remaining term of the state lease, which expires April 30, 2014.

"The consideration set forth in the operating agreement — $1 — is clearly grossly inadequate," Sanpei wrote in a document filed in Honolulu Circuit Court.

Three months before Nahinu's death, Mendoza exercised his option to acquire the stock, but that caught everyone associated with La Mariana by surprise because Nahinu had never mentioned closing a deal to sell the business. She also said that she was never given a copy of the operating agreement with Mendoza, according to court documents.

Attorney James Sattler filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mendoza against Nahinu in May, accusing her of breach of contract. The lawsuit asked that the agreement be enforced and also sought an unspecified amount in damages.

Sanpei filed a counterclaim, accusing Mendoza and two agents with the real estate firm RE/MAX Honolulu, which brokered the deal, of "overreaching, deception and undue influence" in the way they got Nahinu to sign the agreement.

"Grace (International) employed unfair or deceptive acts or practices by, among other things, conspiring with Realtors to mislead Nahinu into believing she was selling her interest in La Mariana on the earlier agreed upon purchase price of $3 million, instead of $1," Sanpei wrote.

The validity of the contract remains in litigation.

Complicating the issue was the indictment of Mendoza in May in a separate case on federal charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and making false statements on loan applications. He is accused of being the mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme on O'ahu.

Mendoza is scheduled to go on trial in March, and the outcome could affect the case against Nahinu if Mendoza is convicted and sent to prison.

Sattler did not return phone calls last week and Mendoza could not be reached for comment. Lyle Ishida, attorney for RE/MAX, would not comment because of the ongoing litigation.

Sanpei said he was "pretty confident" that the lawsuit and claims against Nahinu's estate will be dismissed. He would not comment further on the details of the case.

THINGS STILL THE SAME

While all this legal maneuvering is going on, the La Mariana Sailing Club and restaurant continue to operate. Not much has changed since Nahinu's death, except for a small memorial that was set up at a table where she had lunch daily.

The familiar glass balls hang in fish nets from the ceiling, which is lined with the white Christmas lights, and diners navigate the restaurant's uneven concrete floor. During a recent lunch hour, dozens of people dined at the restaurant and a handful of men sat at the bar while a piano player entertained the crowd.

With no air conditioning, the restaurant can get a bit warm, particularly when the trade winds disappear. But that doesn't deter the loyal customers and curious first-timers from enjoying a seafood lunch, favorite beverage or the company of the employees.

"This is the only place out here where you can have a beer at a reasonable price in a nice atmosphere with nice people," said Charles Francis, 59, of 'Aiea. With its location on a dusty road off Sand Island Access Road, La Mariana also is a good place to hide, said Francis, who has been a regular for more than 20 years.

"It's like a 'no-tell motel.' Nobody knew anything about it. Unless you knew it, nobody came around," Francis said. "It's always been enjoyable, comfortable. I bring my wife sometimes. It's a good place and it really hasn't changed much."

Rich Pennington, an executive with Dorvin Leis Co., agreed and said there are very few places like La Mariana still around. Pennington said he has eaten there a couple of times a week for the past nine years.

"There's not a lot of people who know about it," Pennington said. "It's convenient for us because we just work up the street. But you can get in and out, the food's decent and the people friendly."

Both men said they heard the rumors about La Mariana possibly being sold. They said they would continue going there, unless a new owner made drastic changes that took away the ambience of the restaurant.

Another thing they agreed on was that they missed Nahinu, who lived on the second floor above the restaurant and was a mainstay at the eatery.

"I always liked Annette," Francis said. "She'd be here or she'd be in her office with her pencil, figuring out what was going on dollar-wise and trying to make things better for the customers and herself. She worked hard at this. She really did."

Calma said she hasn't made any changes to the restaurant since taking over. The only addition is a laminated menu that has a tribute to Nahinu on the back.

"We're continuing it the way Annette had left it because that was her wish," Calma said. "Her memory will be with us, with the place, for as long as we have the place going."

Calma started at La Mariana 11 years ago as a waitress and worked her way up to manager. She is now president of La Mariana Sailing Club and is the trustee of Nahinu's estate.

'I NEVER SOLD THE PLACE'

While Nahinu was alive, Calma said, no one interfered with the business activities at La Mariana. So when Mendoza said he was purchasing the club and restaurant, Calma said she believed Nahinu had reached a deal and would someday tell her staff of 25.

"We kept waiting for that 'one day' and I finally asked Annette what was going on, if she really sold the place," Calma said. "But she said, 'No. I never sold the place and if I did, where's my money?' "

During the final months of her life, Nahinu was often forgetful and asked the same question many times, Calma said. When Nahinu was showed the operating agreement, she said she didn't remember signing it, Calma said.

Sanpei argues that Mendoza and the Realtors took advantage of Nahinu's declining mental capacity to get her to sign the contract.

"Nahinu suffered from deteriorated health, diminished capacity, mental weakness and frequent lapses of memory," he wrote in his court filing. "No attorney for Nahinu provided any input to or reviewed the operating agreement before Nahinu signed it. Nahinu was not provided with any reasonable opportunity to consult with any of her attorneys as to the interpretation and desirability of the terms and provisions of the operating agreement."

Sattler argued in his filing that it was Nahinu's responsibility to seek legal advice if she did not understand the terms of the contract. He also said that none of the documents filed on Nahinu's behalf stated that she was legally incompetent when she signed the agreement.

"Assuming ... Nahinu was legally incompetent at the time she executed the management agreement, did any such legal incompetency just 'come and go?' " Sattler wrote.

LIFE GOES ON

In the meantime, Calma said, the restaurant will go on as if Nahinu were still running it. On Sept. 22, the restaurant shut down at 5 p.m. so employees and friends could celebrate Nahinu's 94th birthday.

"For me, she's still here and I think she's still going to be here for as long as this place is standing because this is her. This is Annette," Calma said. "I still talk to her in my mind. Sometimes I go, 'OK, Annette, what am I going to do now?' I go to her grave to have comfort. Talking to her is my comfort."