MRC filed a petition for rehearing arguing that the Supreme Court could not consider whether the government, in this case DLNR, could be held liable for post-judgment interest because the department had not appealed this award, and additionally, that if the court could raise and consider the interest issue on its own that it misapplied the law to the facts of the case.
While an appellate court will generally only decide issues that the parties bring to its attention, the CNMI Supreme Court possesses the authority to correct clear errors of law that do not turn on disputed facts.
In this case, the Superior Court awarded MRC post-judgment interest on the money the commonwealth owed it. Under the laws of the commonwealth, the government is not liable for post-judgment interest unless it explicitly consents to such interest in a contract or through a statute. Here, the contract between MRC and DLNR did not provide for post-judgment interest, and there was no statute that made the government liable for interest on this judgment. As a result, the Superior Court erroneously awarded interest, which the Supreme Court properly corrected on appeal.
The Supreme Court’s full order denying the petition for rehearing is Marine Revitalization Corp., et al. v. Department of Land and Natural Resources, 2011 MP 2, and can be found at http://www.justice.gov.mp/.
