CHIEF Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI on Monday denied the request of attorney David Lujan to continue the proceedings at a later date in the lawsuit of seven construction workers alleging labor violations and human trafficking.
Lujan said he was retained by former Imperial Pacific International, LLC chairwoman Cui Li Jie on June 26, 2021 to represent her in the litigation.
But Judge Manglona said she will not recognize the appearance of Lujan or his law firm, Lujan & Wolff, in the lawsuit until they satisfy all of the requirements for their entry of appearance.
She ordered Lujan’s firm to “perfect its appearance” no later than June 30.
Attorney Clyde Lemons of Lujan’s firm and local attorney Joey P. San Nicolas also made an appearance for Cui.
Cui is a third-party witness in the lawsuit of the seven workers against IPI and its former contractor and subcontractor, MCC International and Gold Mantis Construction Decoration, both of which have settled with the plaintiffs.
Attorney Juan T. Lizama previously represented Cui, but she recently told the court that she was not satisfied with his representation and would look for a new lawyer.
IPI, for its part, recently announced Cui’s resignation as board chair and executive director.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Aaron Halegua, in his third status report told the court that Cui failed to obey the court’s preservation order.
Halegua said Cui still has not fully complied with the order to provide a description of her creation and use of ESI data.
During Monday’s hearing, Cui and How Yo Chi testified in court. Chi is Cui’s interpreter of record.
According to the conference minutes, Judge Manglona stated her inclination to issue an order to show cause against Cui.
Judge Manglona scheduled an order to show cause hearing for July 29 at 8:30 a.m. She ordered Cui to obtain new counsel by the hearing date.
She also scheduled the plaintiffs’ deposition for July 9, 9 a.m. at attorney Bruce Berline’s law office. Berline is Halegua’s co-counsel.
In a previous order, Judge Manglona entered a $5.9 million default judgment in favor of the plaintiffs against IPI.
IPI, for its part, has requested the court to reconsider its decision.
The plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan.
Ramona V. Manglona
