THE Calvo & Clark law firm yesterday claimed that Commerce Secretary Fermin M. Atalig’s attempts to disqualify Justice Pro Tempore Alberto Lamorena from sitting on the appellate panel that will hear the Bank of Saipan receivership issues “has no factual or legal support.”
Attorney Rodney J. Jacob of Calvo & Clark, on behalf of Bank of Saipan, Inc., asked the high court to reject Atalig’s motion to disqualify Lamorena which he described as the “government’s transparent attempt at judge shopping.”
“The motion is based on a single affidavit by Assistant Attorney General Alexis Fallon that is careless, based on innuendo, misinformation and with respect to attributions made to 3rd parties, is absolutely false and nonsensical,” Jacob said.
Contrary to the “misleading” Fallon affidavit, Jacob said, Lamorena is not partial to attorney David J. Lujan as he has presided over multiple cases when Lujan was counsel.
Jacob said the judge even sanctioned Lujan “many times.”
Lujan represents shareholder JLH Pacific Trust on the bank’s board of directors.
Lujan’s sister is on Lamorena’s administrative staff, but Jacob said the CNMI high court and the Guam courts have previously held that such circumstances do not provide a basis to disqualify a judge.
“Lujan’s sister is a Guam court employee and not a CNMI court employee,” he said, adding that requiring judges to disqualify themselves simply because an employee of the court is related to an attorney for a litigant would result in numerous disqualifications that are disruptive to the public and the bar.
Lujan in his declaration called Fallon’s affidavit an innuendo and branded the government lawyer as “a mistress of innuendoes.”
Lujan said the fact that Julie Lujan Torres is his sister and works as secretary to Lamorena is not a basis for disqualification.
Fallon earlier said that Lamorena has a personal relationship with Lujan.
Citing at least 17 cases, Fallon said the judge did not sit as a trial judge when Lujan was the attorney of record or a party in interest.
Fallon and Assistant Attorney General Allan Dollison said the evidence showing that Lamorena and Lujan are both directors of ADJP Corp. is “all the more disturbing in light of the characterizations made in Lujan’s declaration and the lack of candor about his business relationship with Lamorena.”
The articles of incorporation of ADJP Corp. were filed on June 26, 1992 with the Guam Division of Revenue and Taxation.
The purpose of the corporation was to acquire and develop real estate assets. Its directors were Lamorena, Lujan, Jesse A. Leon Guerrero and Peter F. Perez.
Fallon and Dollison said ADJP owned a hotel worth over $1 million and that there was no evidence of any dissolution of the corporation.
They said Lujan and Lamorena were also joint purchasers with two others of Lim Lee Corp. for $2.3 million in 1993.
“A business partnership between an attorney and a judge are per se grounds for disqualification,” they said.
