THE Pacific-West Region of the National Park Service, which manages American Memorial Park, has reached a settlement with Alyssa Jade Nunez who sued the park for negligence.
Nunez said she suffered injuries when she tripped over one of the wires in the grassy area of the park in Garapan where she and her family had just attended an event in 2018.
Nunez, who said the fall fractured the elbow of her right arm, wants the District Court for the NMI to hold the park liable and to pay her damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
The park, represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikel W. Schwab, told the court that they have settled the entire lawsuit. “The parties respectfully request the court to enter an order dismissing the case with prejudice,” he said.
Nunez, represented by attorney Cong Nie, also signed the stipulation.
Following the stipulation from the parties, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona issued an order on July 2, dismissing with prejudice Nunez’s complaint.
In her lawsuit, Nunez stated that the incident happened in May 2018, when the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Pacific-West Region Division of the National Park jointly organized and hosted the 20th Annual Taste of the Marianas International Food Festival & Beer Garden at American Memorial Park.
She said between the grassy area and the stage of the event, there were wires extending between low cement posts that were about 1 to 2 feet above the ground.
Those wires and the low cement posts had been put up by the NPS PWR Division long before the event, the lawsuit stated.
It added that NPS PWR Division employees knew or should have known that those wires presented a significant tripping hazard to park visitors, especially when it was dark because the grassy area was poorly lit in the evening.
There were no signs to warn people of the tripping hazard created by the wires, or ward off the entire surrounding area to prevent people from walking across where the wires were, the lawsuit stated.
On May 19, 2018, Nunez went to attend the Taste of the Marianas with her family members. Nunez and her family arrived at the park and parked their car in the grassy area between the back of the stage and the northern boundary of Coral Tree Avenue.
After attending the event, Nunez and her family members walked toward the grassy area to get back to their vehicle. While walking, Nunez said she tripped over one of the wires and fell forward.
As a result, her lawsuit stated, she fractured her right elbow.
She sought $500,000 in damages.
The park denied Nunez’s allegation, but “[admitted] that NPS did not remove the cables in-between the low cement posts located on the grass between Micro Beach Road and the stage for the event.”
NPS also admitted that it did not put up any warning signs in the immediate vicinity of those cables, ward off the entire area adjacent to those cables, install any temporary lighting in the immediate vicinity of those cables, or place an employee in the vicinity of those cables.
