ALTHOUGH extensive settlement discussions have already taken place, the parties in the case of Price Shoiter are open to participating in a further settlement conference after the completion of discovery at the federal court’s convenience, his attorney, Michael Dotts, said.
Dotts is requesting a standard track assignment for his client’s case.
His reasons: There are multiple legal issues in this case; discovery is likely to be fairly routine; the matter may require expert testimony; the trial in this case will likely take one week; this case has a low suitability for alternative dispute resolution; and the character and nature of the damages may require expert testimony.
Dotts said the “subjects for discovery may include, but are not limited to, plaintiff’s medical records, plaintiff’s communications with his medical providers, plaintiff’s communications with the Department of Corrections, communications between the Department of Corrections and medical providers and others, the procedures in place to provide adequate medical care to inmates and how those procedures were developed.”
Dotts also proposed to have the jury trial on May 7, 2024.
In Feb. 2022, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI issued an order granting Shoiter’s request to set aside a previous dismissal order entered by the court in his case.
Dotts had earlier asked the court to place the lawsuit back on the calendar by either enforcing Section 4.1.3 of the settlement agreement or, in the alternative, vacating the dismissal order and reopening the case pursuant to Rule 60(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Shoiter, a 74-year-old Chuukese national, was sentenced in 2016 to a 10-year prison sentence for sexually abusing a 7-year-old girl. He has sued the Department of Corrections and its former and current officials in federal court for denying him adequate medical care.
In Feb. 2021, a settlement agreement was agreed and signed by all parties, contingent on the governor’s approval of Shoiter’s application for conditional clemency.
On Dec. 3, 2021, Dotts informed the court that then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres had denied Shoiter’s application for conditional clemency.
Under the settlement agreement, Dotts said Shoiter was supposed to undergo heart surgery and knee surgery before a certain deadline, and his counsel would be paid a lump sum amount to cover damages.
But with Shoiter’s clemency denied, Dotts said the settlement agreement has become null and void.
He added, “Without clemency, Shoiter would have never agreed to dismiss his case.”
Dotts said medical treatment should have been given to his client regardless of the settlement because medical care while incarcerated is a constitutional right.
He also noted that “the payment of the damages was due by Aug. 31, 2021, [but] was not paid.”
A status conference hearing is scheduled for today, Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 1:30 p.m.
The United States Courthouse in Gualo Rai, Saipan.
