FOLLOWING a stipulation from plaintiffs and defendants, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has dismissed without prejudice the lawsuit filed by nine former firefighters against the fire department and its commissioner.
Without prejudice means the lawsuit can be refiled.
According to the stipulation of the parties, on Sept. 13, the court issued its order denying plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction. The court denied the plaintiffs’ motion on three grounds: 1) Plaintiffs failed to exhaust their administrative remedies; 2) the preliminary injunction was not a proper remedy for economic harm; and 3) plaintiffs did not have a strong likelihood of success on the merits for any of their claims as the level of threat of irreparable harm was not present, and the public’s interest in protecting health outweighed the interest of plaintiffs.
As part of its findings, the court determined that it had no jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ complaint.
Because the court found it had no jurisdiction, the parties agreed to dismiss the case without prejudice, the stipulation added.
The stipulation was signed by Assistant Attorneys General J. Robert Glass Jr. and Keith Chambers II who represented the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services and Commissioner Dennis Mendiola, and the plaintiffs’ attorney, Joseph Horey.
The plaintiffs are Paul Acebedo, Jose K. Angui, Allen T. Calvo, Cain C. Castro, Algernon A. Flores, Derek B. Gersonde, Shawn DLR. Kaipat, Philip Kalen, and Adam J. Safer.
They were terminated for insubordination following their refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine as required by the CNMI Governor’s Directive 2021-002.
In their lawsuit, the nine terminated firefighters asked the Superior Court to issue an order declaring their terminations invalid and unlawful, and to set their terminations aside.
The former firefighters alleged, among other things, that their terminations violated the due process clause and the equal protection clause of the Commonwealth Constitution.
In a statement on Monday, Commissioner Mendiola said:
“Today is a reaffirmation of our ongoing and successful vaccination and mitigation efforts to safeguard our population from the Covid-19 pandemic. Judge Camacho’s decision to maintain the termination of the former firefighters is in line with several precedents and court decisions throughout the country that uphold that states and territories are allowed enforce compulsory vaccination. Although, there is still a long process to the final disposition of this matter, I am still thankful of the outcome.
“It is unfortunate that we have to lose good firefighters through this process. To be clear, it was never the Governor’s nor my intention to go through this level of enforcement, yet the well-being of our community is of our utmost concern as we remain in a global pandemic. As firefighters and first responders, we are charged with the great responsibility of ensuring the safety of our community and that starts with us to protect ourselves through vaccination before answering the call of duty and to lead by example.
“I wish there was another way; however, we are still in a state of emergency and must take all necessary measures to protect our loved ones and of course our people. Covid-19 cases continue to spike across the country, and we are seeing an exponential increase in the number of Covid-19 cases at our borders and quarantine sites here in the CNMI. The pandemic remains a clear and present danger to our livelihood, as we see the positive cases go higher and higher. As firefighters, we are at the frontlines of this response, and we must continue the work of maintaining one of the most effective Covid-19 operations in the country.”
