We are filling this PETITION on the following grounds and statements:
THAT the Court and or the trustees of the Garment Workers Trust Fund applies the Cy Pres Doctrine Law & Legal Definition and exercised the authority to distribute the remaining residual fund to charity without looking back to the nearest possible beneficiaries in existence such as the former garment workers presently in the island. The Cy Pres Doctrine Law & Legal Definition states that “the legal doctrine of cy pres is a French term meaning “as close as possible.” It says that, when a gift is made by will or trust and it is no longer possible to follow the instructions of the donor, a judge, estate, or trustee may apply the Cy Pres doctrine to fulfill the donor’s wishes as nearly as possible. It is usually applied in the case of a gift made for charitable or educational purposes when the named recipient of the gift does not exist, has dissolved or no longer conducts the activity for which the gift is made. In some cases, the Cy Pres doctrine is used in court disputes in which a judge must determine the appropriate substitute to receive the gift.
In this case, the judge and or the trustees of the Garment Workers Trust Fund did not consider the physical presence of garment factory workers presently residing in the island who were experiencing hardship and were not able to receive the first distribution, and did ask the GWTF Trustee in their letters prior to August 15, 2009 deadline regarding the distribution in determining the appropriate.
THAT the judge did not consider the nearest or the closes possible recipient is the former garment workers who are presently in the island. The trust fund trustees should consider first all the former garment workers who are presently in the island before they decide to donate the residual funds to charitable institutions. Some of these former garment workers were part of the original SCMs, and others were advised to support the garment workers complain that resulted into a class action suit. The residual fund from the class action settlement funds does not apply as in the case of a gift made for charitable institution or educational purposes if the named recipient is still exist. Also, the unique status of CNMI were recognized under U.S. P.L. 110-229 (CNRA) for humanitarian reason as in the case of foreign contract workers should not be compared to other states of America because they had all the resources they need, they can generate their own fund without much support from the national government and can even contribute to the national treasury fund. In the CNMI, the doctrine of cy press is not applicable as in the case of garment workers.
Further; the Cy Press Doctrine Law & Legal Definition states and I quote “When the original objective of the settler or the testator became impossible, impracticable, or illegal to perform, the cy press doctrine allows the court to amend the terms of the charitable trust as closely as possible to the original intention of the testator or settler, to prevent the trust from failing”. The phrase “as closely as possible to the original intention of the testator or settler” refers to the former garment workers who are presently in the island.
THAT the Chairman of the Garment Workers Trust Fund is now requesting the District Court approval of all their request of fees and expenses without a hearing or otherwise in a very short period of time for the expeditious closing of the Garment Workers Trust Fund.
We are requesting Judge Munson to give us ample time for this petition for us to be a party of the residual fund. Based on the press releases, and upon our own research on how the trust fund is being managed, there is lot of unnecessary operating and personnel expenditures inside the trust fund office. We had exhausted ourselves in all the risk in our daily task, spent our hard earned money to follow-up claims, only to find ourselves being segregated and neglected from the residual fund as beneficiaries;
We have certainly made our mark as garment factory workers in the garment industry that benefitted the islands economy but we felt that we are treated as an empty individual. We knew the reality that we are a victim of global economic downturn that drives us out in circumstances that is out of our control. We relied our faith to the chairman of the trust fund that we can avail certain amount from the trust fund but he never recommends or requests to the U.S. district judge any arguments on how we can avail money and or be a party of the residual fund.
The chosen charitable institutions with all due respect will profit from the sweat of our toil through the thousands of dollars generated from the settlement agreement in the class action against garment industry during their existence in the island.
But the host island government and the trust fund trustees who benefited from our expertise in the industry had no clear statements but to deny our request for the residual fund benefits. Why are they doing this to us? Is it because of our ethnicity? Is it because we are not a Caucasians roaming around the beautiful beaches of the island asking for assistance?
CARLITO J. MARQUEZ
(On behalf of the garment workers)
Puerto Rico, Saipan
