Melvin Repeki Aldan, his wife Debra and their six children, filed the complaint against CUC, its Executive Director Antonio S. Muna, CUC reconnections and customer services personnel Grina Mizutani, Lee Lieto, Verna Sablan and five others.
The plaintiffs, represented by attorney Joseph E. Horey of O’Connor Bernan Dotts & Banes Law firm, is asking the federal court to issue a mandatory injunction compelling CUC to reconnect their electrical and water serves.
They are also asking for damages in an amount to be proved at trial including general, compensatory and consequential damages, damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, costs, attorney’s fees and other relief the court may deem proper.
On Oct. 16, 2008, the plaintiffs, who reside in an NMHC housing unit in Koblerville, sent a letter to Muna, stating that they had been without power or water in their home since their meter was removed by CUC personnel in May 2007 for “unclear reasons.”
The plaintiffs said they made several attempts through their former counsel at the Micronesian Legal Services to get their power reconnected, to get an administrative hearing or just to get an informal conference.
However, all their requests went unanswered.
The plaintiffs said as a result, they had no electricity and water for the past year and a half.
They said they tried to move temporarily into a relative’s home in another village but were forced to go back home after their home was burglarized.
They said their ability to renew their lease with NMHC has been jeopardized as utility service of the tenant is one of the conditions of renewal.
In her declaration, Debra Aldan said that she and her husband talked with CUC’s Sablan in May 2007 and brought a check to pay anything they might owe, but she said Sablan told them they wouldn’t turn their power on because their meter was “under investigation.”
When asked what the problem was, Debra Aldan said CUC couldn’t give them an answer.
The plaintiffs moved into their Koblerville housing unit in Nov. 2006 and had been promptly paying their electric and water bill through April 2007. CUC took off their meter in May 2007 for unknown reasons.
The plaintiffs are filing for three causes of action against the defendants — civil rights claim, violation of the CNMI Constitution, and breach of contract.
The plaintiffs said that the defendants’ neglect, failure and refusal to reconnect their electric and water services constitute a deprivation of property without due process of law.
