IMPERIAL Pacific International LLC, represented by attorney Kevin Abikoff, and the seven workers, represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline, have requested the District Court for the NMI to approve the stay agreement entered by the parties in its entirety.
According to the joint stipulation filed on Friday, the parties executed an agreement to stay enforcement, with an effective date of Feb. 3, 2022. The plaintiffs agreed to stay the enforcement of their default judgment in exchange for IPI and certain other parties securing a supersedeas or appeal bond in the amount of $6 million on or before June 30, 2022, committing other collateral, and fulling other obligations set forth in the stay agreement.
IPI secured an initial appeal bond in the amount of $1 million on Feb. 11, 2022 and reimbursed the expenses and a portion of the legal fees incurred by the plaintiffs in enforcing their judgment by making payment to the plaintiffs’ counsel on Feb. 9, 2022, the stipulation stated.
“The parties request that the court approve the stay agreement in its entirety, including the three executed mortgages and the provision that the court retain jurisdiction over the enforcement of its provisions,” the lawyers stated.
In a motion previously filed in federal court, the parties stated that they would 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.
The parties also agreed that the plaintiffs have a valid lien as to IPI’s other personal property by virtue of the writ of execution that was executed by the U.S. Marshals Service on July 20, 2021.
“This lien shall remain in place until IPI has complied with all its obligations under the stay agreement, and that IPI shall not transfer, pledge, or otherwise encumber its personal property without the express written consent of plaintiffs or permission of this court,” the stipulation added.
The seven workers have agreed to stop 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.
The plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan. They sued IPI over labor violation 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, 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.
