Facebook CEO trying to buy out land near his Hawaii estate

HONOLULU (AP) — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg went to court to gain ownership of isolated pockets of land tucked away within his sprawling estate in Hawaii, many of which are less than an acre and could be split between hundreds of owners in a situation unique to the islands.

University of Hawaii law professor David Callies guesses Zuckerberg is concerned about the rights any landlocked landowners would have to cross his property to get to the road or ocean.

Courts almost always award an easement that allows landlocked owners to cross another property to get to public areas, he said.

The parcels emerged during land reforms by the Kingdom of Hawaii land in the 1800s.

[...] that point, no one individually owned land — it was collectively cared for and used.