CHIEF Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI has granted the stipulation on limited receivership for Imperial Pacific International LLC’s gaming equipment in the lawsuit of seven construction workers who have alleged labor violations and trafficking scheme.
According to Judge Manglona, the amount that the limited receiver should be authorized to collect through the liquidation of IPI’s gaming assets shall be $6 million plus any additional amounts (as defined in the stay agreement), minus the amount of any supersedeas or appeal bonds that have been issued and any other amounts collected by the plaintiffs toward payment of their judgment pursuant to the stay agreement.
The judge also ordered that the receivership be stayed until April 13, 2022. She scheduled a status conference for the same date at 9 a.m.
As provided in the stay agreement, “in the event that any other party seeks to take any action that may implicate the receivership for the gaming equipment, or the plaintiffs’ rights, claims, or interests related thereto, the plaintiffs shall face no limitation on taking any action they deem reasonable in order to protect their rights or claims as to the receivership and the gaming equipment,” the judge said.
Recently, Judge Manglona approved the stay agreement between IPI and the seven plaintiffs.
She said the stay agreement and its appendices are deemed sufficient to warrant a stay pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 62(b).
“The court further affirms that by virtue of the aforementioned Writ of Execution, plaintiffs maintain a valid lien as to IPI’s personal property (other than IPI’s gaming equipment, which will be addressed by a separate order), that this lien shall remain in place until IPI has complied with all its obligations under the Stay Agreement, and that IPI shall not transfer, pledge, or otherwise encumber its personal property without the express written consent of plaintiffs or permission of this court,” Judge Manglona said.
The court shall retain jurisdiction over the enforcement of any provision of the stay agreement, she added.
The separate order on limited receivership regarding IPI’s gaming equipment order was issued on March 16.
In a motion previously filed in federal court, IPI, represented by attorney Kevin Abikoff, and the plaintiffs, represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline, asked the court to approve the stay agreement.
The parties stated that they would execute a stipulation in which IPI agrees that the seven construction workers may take over the limited receivership to sell the gaming equipment and assume all rights previously held by U.S.A. Fanter Corp. Ltd., a contractor that sued IPI for nonpayment of labor and materials amounting to $2 million.
The seven workers also have agreed to stop any action by the receiver for a set period of time. They likewise agreed that the stay will be further extended so long as IPI performs all of its obligations under the stay agreement.
IPI has secured an initial appeal bond in the amount of $1 million on Feb. 11, 2022, and reimbursed the expenses and a portion of the legal fees incurred by the plaintiffs in enforcing their judgment by making a payment to the plaintiffs’ counsel on Feb. 9, 2022.
The plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan. They sued IPI over labor violation and human trafficking allegations.
The plaintiffs were previously employed by IPI’s former contractor and subcontractor, MCC International and Gold Mantis, both of which have already settled with the workers.
On May 26, 2021, Judge Manglona entered a default judgment in favor of the workers plus post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees for a total amount of $5.9 million.
After IPI’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the federal court, the casino investor appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
