THE Office of the Attorney General, through Chief Solicitor J. Robert Glass Jr., has requested the Superior Court Clerk of Court for an entry of default against former Department of Community and Cultural Affairs Secretary Robert H. Hunter.
The AG’s office, which has filed a lawsuit against Hunter for excessive typhoon overtime pay, said the defendant has failed to answer or file any responsive pleading to the AG’s original complaint for declaratory judgment and recovery relief.
“As of the date of filing this request for entry of default, no answer has been filed by defendant…nor has defendant submitted any responsive pleading of any kind,” Glass said. “The time allowed by law for defendant to answer having expired, application is hereby made that the default of defendant…be entered according to law.”
The AG’s office filed the request for entry of default on April 4, 2023.
In his declaration filed in court, Glass said, “On Dec. 14, 2022, I filed a complaint alleging six causes of action that defendant…was illegally paid overtime, premium pay, or other payments contrary to law, and that such amounts should be returned to the Commonwealth Treasury.”
The complaint requested a judgement in the amount of $17,147.90 for unlawful typhoon premium payments, overtime payments, or extra payments not authorized by law, without valid appropriation, and in excess of the salary ceiling; post-judgment interest at 9% per annum; and costs of suit which total $85.68 for process server costs and mailing costs.
After multiple attempts to serve Hunter personally, Glass said the defendant was served by mail in accordance with 7 CMC § 1104 by certified mail with return receipt.
“On Feb. 10, 2023, the complaint and summons was mailed via United States Postal Service to defendant at his address in Tucson, Arizona,” Glass said. “On Feb. 21, 2023, the summons and complaint were delivered as addressed, including a signed return receipt. On March 28, 2023, the undersigned [Glass] received the return receipt and filed an affidavit of service detailing the steps taken by plaintiff to serve defendant.”
Glass said Hunter was duly served on Feb. 21, 2023, when the complaint and summons were delivered by mail.
“To date, no answer or any other responsive pleading has been filed by defendant,” Glass added.
But according to a former government attorney, who declined to be identified, Glass’s service by mail “may be defective because the certified mail requires a signature and address. The address portion in the return receipt is totally missing. The return receipt just looks like chicken scratch. And there is no way to verify if it was received by Robert Hunter or anyone at his home address.”
In his response to the lawsuit when it was filed in December 2022, Hunter said:
“The Attorney General’s Office is more culpable and negligent in this matter than anyone else, including the [Office of Personnel Management] and the Administration. After all, this is the office that should be reviewing written guidance from OPM and issuances of directives based on that guidance, for legality. This apparently wasn’t done. Instead, the AG’s office, having been grossly remiss of their duty, seeks to financially harm employees four years after-the-fact, for a matter that was not the fault of any of these employees. Our only fault was to agree to months of back-breaking difficult work at the expense of our own households and families.”
Hunter also said that the AG was “wrong on the published figure. Over the course of months I received $13,000, not $17,000.”
The AG’s office has filed similar complaints against other former cabinet officials of the Torres administration.
