THE NMI Settlement Fund and its trustee Joyce Tang, through attorney Nicole Torres-Ripple, has filed in Superior Court an amended notice of claim amount in the Estate of Manuel B. Villagomez in federal court.
“The notice of amended claim amount reduces the claim amount from $56,913.77 to $19,584.95,” Torres-Ripple said.
She also told the court that the settlement discussions had been exhausted and were unsuccessful.
“The Settlement Fund is prepared to proceed with the administrative appeals process to resolve any issues relating to the claim, including the issues raised by the Estate administrator in her second status report and filing of notice of rejection and disallowance of claim,” she added.
Torres-Ripple filed the amended claims on April 7, 2022.
She maintains that the District Court for the NMI has exclusive jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Settlement Agreement.
“The Settlement Agreement requires all claims between the Settlement Fund and Settlement Fund members be adjudicated in accordance with the administrative appeals process set forth in the NMI Settlement Fund Appeals and Procedures,” she said.
“The issue of whether this court (Superior Court) has jurisdiction to resolve the Settlement Fund’s claim for overpayment, and whether the Estate administrator, as successor in interest, is subject to the Settlement Fund’s administrative appeals process for the purpose of litigating the Settlement Fund’s claim against the Decedent/Estate is pending before the NMI District Court in Johnson v. Torres, Civil Case No. 09-00023,” Torres-Ripple stated,
The NMI Settlement Fund filed a claim in the probate of the Estate of Manuel B. Villagomez related to what was an overpayment in retirement benefits amounting to over $56,913.77 paid prior to Villagomez’s passing on May 10, 2021.
For their part, the Estate of Villagomez and its administrator, Colleen V. Manglona, through attorney Robert T. Torres, have filed a notice in federal and local courts rejecting the NMI Settlement Fund’s claim of overpayment in retirement benefits in the amount of $56,913.77, saying that the claims are time barred.
