The dismissal was issued following a stipulation by the parties to dismiss the Consumer Protection Act claims.
The stipulation also sought the dismissal of claims against the Professional Association of Dive Instructors Worldwide Corp. which was granted by District Court for the NMI designated Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood in an order on June 10, 2020.
She likewise vacated the hearing scheduled for July 22 at 9:30 a.m.
The plaintiff, Madelyn Ann Jones, named the Professional Association of Dive Instructors, Axe Murderer Tours LLC, Harry Blalock, Green Flash LLC, and Joe McDoulett as defendants in her lawsuit filed a year after her husband John Jones went missing at the Grotto on Nov. 18, 2018.
She sued the defendants for negligence, wrongful death, and breach of the Consumer Protection Act. The defendants, through their respective attorneys, have denied the allegations.
John Jones, an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration for 30 years, was sent to Saipan to aid in the recovery efforts of the airport after Super Typhoon Yutu devastated the island in Oct. 2018.
On Nov. 18, 2018, John Jones and a fellow employee decided to go scuba diving and sought a diving guide, Blalock, who was joined by McDoulett of Green Flash.
During the dive, John Jones went missing.
The U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the CNMI Department of Public Safety searched for Mr. Jones for several days but he was never found.
The search was suspended on Nov. 24, 2018.
A presumptive death certificate was issued on March 22, 2019 with a date of death of Nov. 18, 2018.
The 65-year-old Mr. Jones left behind a wife of 46 years, two children, five grandchildren, and his mother.
