AFTER failing to establish where Yantze Corporation is incorporated, its lawsuit against American Sinopan LLC was dismissed without prejudice by District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona. Without prejudice means it can be refiled.
The judge also found the complaint deficient in establishing complete diversity.
Yantze sued American Sinopan for not paying for the construction of Heaven II Hotel on Capital Hill, and demanded payment of at least $80,000 for breaching the construction agreement they entered into in October 2017.
The plaintiff wants the federal court to issue an order awarding Yantze actual damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
The lawsuit also demands an award of pre- and post-judgment interest, attorney’s fees, and other reliefs.
Represented by attorney Mark Scoggins, the plaintiff stated in its complaint that the sole member of American Sinopan LLC is Imperial Pacific Real Estate & Hotel Management Company Limited, a British Virgin Islands company.
But according to Judge Manglona, simply stating that American Sinopan’s sole member is a British Virgin Islands company is “insufficient to invoke the court’s diversity jurisdiction.”
The judge noted that during a status conference hearing, the attorney for Yantze told the court that the sole member of American Sinopan no longer controls it.
