THE Department of Public Works on Thursday informed Imperial Pacific International that the $2.4 million crane litigation fund that the casino investor deposited in 2016 had been transferred to the CNMI Superior Court.
In his letter to IPI Director How Yo Chi, DPW Secretary Ray N. Yumul said the department reviewed its internal documents pertaining to the tower cranes of IPI’s unfinished hotel-casino in Garapan, and found out that a dispute over the tower cranes arose between IPI and neighboring business establishments in August 2016.
Yumul said the department’s records show that the businesses filed a civil complaint in Superior Court.
As a result of the litigation, IPI deposited $2.4 million into an escrow account with Security Title to address the safety concerns of the businesses in the area surrounding the IPI construction site, and to mitigate any damage that may be caused by the tower cranes’ operation.
Yumul said DPW records also show that on Oct. 24 and 25, 2018, Super Typhoon Yutu caused significant damage to IPI’s tower crane No. 4, which necessitated its deconstruction. Eventually, tower crane No. 4 was dismantled.
Yumul said DPW was also made aware that Security Title transferred and deposited the crane litigation fund to the Superior Court.
In his sixth status report in February 2021, then-IPI attorney Michael Dotts told the District Court for the NMI that the Department of Finance secretary had asserted the Commonwealth’s lien as to the deposited funds related to the crane, and that Finance would move to intervene in Superior Court to enforce the lien.
DPW has been reviewing its records in response to IPI’s inquiry regarding “a security deposit.” Yumul has said that “no such security deposit was made.”
This file photo shows tower crane No. 5 at Imperial Pacific International’s unfinished hotel-casino in Garapan.
