DISTRICT Court for the NMI Designated Judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood said Settlement Fund Trustee Joyce C. H. Tang’s request for compensation and reimbursement of expenses is reasonable.
The judge ordered the Settlement Fund to pay the trustee $31,872.51, which represents 90% of the trustee’s professional fees and all expenses and gross receipt taxes incurred during the months of January 2021 through August 2021.
Judge Tydingco-Gatewood also ordered the Settlement Fund to hold in trust to the credit of the trustee the sum of $3,425.75, which represents 10% of the trustee’s professional fees for the same time period.
She said the trustee may petition for the release of this 10% retainer on a quarterly basis, subject to the court’s satisfaction of the trustee’s work and any objections to the trustee’s compensation requests.
Objections to the trustee’s request for remuneration may be made within 10 days of this order by the plaintiff, class counsel and counsel for the CNMI government, the judge added.
The judge also approved Tang’s petition to release the 10% retainer withheld from invoices for services rendered during the months of August 2020 through December 2020.
“There being no objection to the invoices and the court being satisfied with the Trustee’s work, the court orders the Settlement Fund to pay the trustee the additional sum of $4,425,” the judge said.
Background
In 2009, retiree Betty Johnson sued the CNMI government for its failure to pay the amounts that it was required by law to pay to the Retirement Fund since 2005.
Johnson said the Fund would run out of money by June 2014 and would no longer be able to pay retirement benefits.
In September 2013, the parties agreed to settle the lawsuit and the federal court approved a $779 million consent judgment in case the CNMI government did not meet its obligations to the Settlement Fund.
The Settlement Fund was created by the federal court as part of the settlement between the CNMI government and retirees.
The federal court appointed Tang as Settlement Fund trustee on Sept. 25, 2013.
Joyce Tang
