JOSHUA Gray has prevailed in his discrimination lawsuit against Imperial Pacific International LLC, and was awarded by the federal court a total of $5,686,182.20 in compensatory and punitive damages.
In a 40-page issued order on May 30, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI said Gray has prevailed against IPI on his §1981 racial discrimination claim, claim of wrongful termination in violation of public policy, and Title VII discrimination and retaliation claims.
Judge Manglona awarded Gray, a former IPI employee, the following compensatory damages: $121,545.55 in back pay, $300,000 in lost future earnings, and $1 million in emotional distress damages.
“The total compensatory damages amounts to $1,421,545.55. With a ratio of 3:1 of punitive damages to compensatory damages, the Court awards $4,264,636.65 in punitive damages. Therefore, the total amount of compensatory and punitive damages is $5,686,182.20 plus attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment interest at the same rate as post-judgment interest, and post-judgment interest at the applicable federal rate,” the judge added.
Gray, represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua, Bruce Berline, and William Fitzgerald, sued IPI for discrimination based on race, and retaliation for his complaints about its employment practices.
IPI was represented by attorneys Kevin Abikoff, Joey San Nicolas, and Hannah Alice Bogen.
Gray initially requested $3,939,768 in compensatory damages with a ratio of 7:1 for punitive damages, which amount to $31,518,144 in total damages.
After reviewing the record, the evidence presented, and relevant case law, Judge Manglona granted Gray’s motion for default judgment, but for the lesser amount of $5,686,182.20 plus attorneys’ fees and costs, prejudgment interest, and post-judgment interest at the applicable federal rate.
Factual background
Gray moved to Saipan and began working for IPI in September 2015 as director of operations.
In July 2016, Gray filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that IPI discriminated against qualified U.S. citizens in favor of foreign workers.
One of Gray’s allegations was that IPI had declined to hire Gray for the position of assistant vice president of hotel operations despite Gray’s qualifications because IPI had already recruited and offered the job to Calvin Wong, “a racially Asian/ethnically Chinese individual.”
Ten months later, Gray and IPI settled the 2016 EEOC claim. Based on the settlement, Gray became “assistant vice president – front office” with a salary equivalent to Calvin Wong.
Even after he settled his EEOC complaint, Gray said he continued to feel marginalized. For example, he said he was not invited to inter-departmental meetings concerning his responsibilities.
Additionally, he said he was assigned to the “half-baked” “Saipan Star” project of bringing a cruise ship to Saipan that, he added, was untenable from the start.
At one point, Gray said he was the only hotel executive on Saipan, yet issues with hotel operations were directed to the senior vice president of human resources, Marco Teng.
In November 2017, although Gray was placed on a list of IPI employees to be terminated, then-IPI Chief Executive Officer Mark Brown was able to prevent Gray’s termination by speaking to the senior vice president of human resources.
Gray said he spoke to Kelly Butcher, IPI’s legal counsel, about his perceived marginalization. Gray said he was “extremely hurt and insulted” when Butcher told him “to stop being a ‘cry baby.’ ”
In September 2018, Gray said he was disheartened and embarrassed when he learned that he had been left out of the planning for IPI’s Mariana Resort project, which he had looked forward to working on.
The next month, he said IPI began giving away Gray’s responsibilities to Lucy Guo, “an Asian/Chinese individual who had no experience in 5-star hotel operations and who was brought in on a CW-1 visa,” which “further added insult.”
During the 2018 holiday season, Gray learned that he was once again placed on a list of IPI employees to be terminated.
On January 20, 2019, Gray said he met with IPI executives Mark Brown, Don Hallmark, and Mark Badal.
Brown told Gray that Mr. Ji Xiaobo, IPI’s owner, asked, “Why is the fat black guy still here?” and told Brown to fire Gray.
According to Gray, Ji said Lucy Guo, a non-U.S. citizen of Chinese descent, would handle hotel operations.
Brown explained to Gray that he had informed Ji that IPI needed Gray’s experience for IPI’s villas and the Mariana Resort project, and that “it was illegal to fire a U.S. citizen and give his job duties to a CW-1 worker.”
“To [his] absolute shock,” Gray said he “later discovered that phrase would also be jokingly circulated in internal chat messages between IPI’s in-house lawyers.”
Gray was referring to the phrase “fat black guy” which he said he equates with “the N-word.”
Despite Brown’s warning to Ji about the illegality of Gray’s termination, Gray was terminated on January 24, 2019.
IPI’s senior vice president of operations at the time, Donald Browne, acknowledged that IPI was discriminating against Gray in violation of federal law regarding Gray’s unsuccessful applications for the positions of vice president of hotel operations and assistant vice president.
After working for IPI for over three years and at the time of his termination, Gray’s annual salary was $155,000, and included 20 days of paid vacation, along with fringe benefits including one meal a day; a two-bedroom apartment at Flame Tree Villa, Vestcor Village; health and dental insurance; and two round-trip first-class tickets to Las Vegas from Saipan.
After Gray’s termination, IPI paid him an additional three months’ salary and his unused vacation time, and allowed Gray to stay in IPI housing during those three months.
In July 2019, Gray filed another EEOC charge against IPI and received his EEOC right-to-sue letter that same month.
In January 2020, IPI had 59 hotel operations employees. But IPI has not had casino or hotel operations since March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. As a result of the pandemic, IPI furloughed 98% of its employees and laid off others.
The United States Courthouse in Gualo Rai, Saipan.
