IN determining that 30 days is a “reasonable time” for Imperial Pacific International to pay over $62 million in annual exclusive casino license fees, the Commonwealth Casino Commission on Thursday said an “economic downturn does not excuse” IPI from paying its obligations.
IPI, through its Director How Yo Chi, had proposed that the casino investor would pay $5 million to the CNMI government in license fees, and $1 million to the CCC in regulatory fee every year for two to four years.
After hearing IPI’s proposal on Thursday, the commissioners went on recess and then reconvened.
Present during the meeting were the commission’s chairman, Edward C. Deleon Guerrero, vice chairman Ralph S. Demapan, commissioners Martin Mendiola and Ramon M. Dela Cruz as well as the commission’s legal counsel, Keisha Blaise.
After a few hours of discussion, the commission unanimously voted that the reasonable deadline for IPI to pay its 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 casino license fees is 30 calendar days, beginning on IPI’s receipt of the commission’s notice, which is expected to be issued today, Monday, Oct. 30.
The commission stated that in determining a reasonable time period, it considered the information provided by IPI, the CNMI Supreme Court and the following “legal principles and precedential decisions”:
1) A force majeure provision only excuses performance during a force majeure event. At oral argument in the CNMI Supreme Court in January 2023, IPI agreed that the Covid-19 force majeure event had ended.
2) Any lingering effects of Covid-19 on IPI’s economic viability or ability to pay does not constitute a force majeure event.
3) An economic downturn does not excuse performance of payment obligations that have become economically impractical, notwithstanding that the downturn was itself the result of a force majeure event.
