By Bryan Manabat
bryan@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
DISTRICT Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has granted the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Districts of Guam and the NMI to temporarily halt proceedings in a federal negligence lawsuit filed by a Korean businessman against American Memorial Park.
In her order issued last week, Judge Manglona wrote, “The case is stayed until funds have been appropriated for the Department of Justice. The United States shall notify the Court once funding is restored.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikel Schwab requested a stay in the case of Yoon Suk Chang v. United States of America, citing a lack of Department of Justice funding to continue the case due to a lapse in congressional appropriations.
The case stems from a 2021 incident at American Memorial Park on Saipan, where the plaintiff alleges he was injured due to negligent maintenance of the park grounds. According to court documents, Chang was playing with his children on a grassy field near the amphitheater when his foot caught in a hole, resulting in an ankle injury that required surgery and months of recovery.
Chang filed suit in December 2021 under the Federal Tort Claims Act or FTCA, which allows individuals to seek damages from the federal government for injuries caused by federal employees’ negligence. He is seeking $1 million in damages for medical costs and lost income.
American Memorial Park is operated and maintained by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The U.S. government successfully moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the claim was barred under the FTCA’s discretionary function exception, which protects the government from liability for policy-based decisions.
However, in June 2025, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s dismissal, ruling that routine lawn maintenance does not involve public policy considerations and therefore does not fall under the exception.
According to the U.S. government attorney, with DOJ funding expired on Sept. 30, 2025, federal attorneys are prohibited from working on civil cases unless they involve imminent threats to life or property. The U.S. government argues that the Chang case does not meet that threshold.
Schwab has asked the court to pause all proceedings until appropriations are restored.
Bryan Manabat was a liberal arts student of Northern Marianas College where he also studied criminal justice. He is the recipient of the NMI Humanities Award as an Outstanding Teacher (Non-Classroom) in 2013, and has worked for the CNMI Motheread/Fatheread Literacy Program as lead facilitator.
