THE Commonwealth Casino Commission has no objection to the sale of Imperial Pacific International LLC’s casino gaming machines, according to Assistant Attorney General Carl Dela Cruz.
Dela Cruz who represents the Commission, filed a statement of non-opposition to the sale of IPI’s casino gaming machines pursuant to the receivership established in U.S.A. Fanter Corporation v. Imperial Pacific International (CNMI), LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-00003.
On June 9, 2022, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI ordered the commission to file its objections, if any, to the sale of IPI’s casino gaming machines pursuant to the receivership established in another lawsuit against IPI.
Failing to do that, the court will deem that CCC has given its consent, said Judge Manglona.
IPI, through attorney Kevin Abikoff, is opposing the lifting of the stay on the limited receivership in the lawsuit of seven workers who sued the casino developer over labor abuse and human trafficking allegations.
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.
On May 26, 2021, the federal court entered a default judgment in favor of the workers plus post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees for a total amount of $5.9 million.
IPI failed to pay the judgment resulting in the federal court granting plaintiffs’ application for a writ of execution for the seizure of IPI’s personal property, including its casino gaming machines.
Judge Manglona, on March 16, 2022, granted a stipulation, filed in the Fanter case between the plaintiffs and IPI, that stayed enforcement of the writ.
Under the stay agreement, the court amended the receivership in the Fanter case to add the seven workers as additional creditors with the right to step into the shoes of Fanter to enforce the judgment owed to the plaintiffs.
In that stay agreement, IPI recognized that in the event it failed to comply with the stay agreement, plaintiffs would have the right to proceed with enforcement via receivership.
On May 27, 2022, Judge Manglona found that IPI had defaulted on the agreement.
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. They have requested the court to lift the stay on the limited receivership to sell IPI’s casino gaming equipment so that the judgment can be satisfied.
IPI, in its objection, stated that 4 CMC § 51564 required Fanter and the Wang plaintiffs to first obtain permission from the CCC and a license from the commission prior to seeking the writs and the limited receivership over the casino gaming machines.
But the commission, agreeing with the court’s ruling in the appointment of a receiver, informed the court that it does not oppose the sale of IPI’s casino gaming machines.
U.S.A. Fanter, for its part, sued IPI for its failure to pay the full amount due to the plaintiff under their construction contract for labor and materials provided for the improvement of the Saipan casino investor’s real property in Garapan.
According to that lawsuit, IPI had paid U.S.A. Fanter $300,000 only and the unpaid balance due was not less than $2,089,345.28.
Judge Manglona has issued a final judgment in favor of U.S.A. Fanter.
As to the request to lift the stay on the receivership, Judge Manglona scheduled a hearing for July 15, at 10 a.m.
