THE seven construction workers who sued Imperial Pacific International LLC over forced labor and human trafficking allegations have agreed to delay the enforcement of the default judgment against the casino investor after it secured a $6 million appeal bond.
IPI said it will provide the bond by June 30, 2022 as well as collateral until it does so, including recognizing the plaintiffs’ right to proceed with the receivership in the event that IPI fails to comply with the stay agreement.
In a motion filed in the District Court for the NMI on Wednesday, the parties stated that they will 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.
In their separate lawsuit, the seven workers have agreed to stay any action by the receiver for a set period of time. They also agreed that the stay will be further extended so long as IPI performs all of its obligations under the stay agreement.
On May 26, 2021 Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI 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.
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.
Represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline, the plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan.
The United States Courthouse
