FOR failing to pay claimants in a sexual harassment case and for failing to comply with a consent decree, Imperial Pacific International LLC was found in contempt of court at a show cause hearing Thursday.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI granted the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s motion for a contempt order, and ordered the parent company of IPI, IPI Holdings Ltd., to pay the balance no later than Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, including daily per diem and interest pursuant to the consent decree.
The judge likewise granted the plaintiff’s request for payment order against IPI Holdings Ltd., and further ordered that payment be made by IPI’s parent company directly to the claimants or to EEOC.
Moreover, Judge Manglona granted EEOC’s request for attorney’s fees and costs.
She ordered IPI to appear at a hearing on Oct. 14 at 2:30 p.m. on a motion to appoint a receiver. She also invited EEOC to attend.
Lastly, the judge ordered IPI to give notice to its creditors and comply with local rules regarding receivership.
The motion to appoint a receiver was filed by USA Fanter Corp. Ltd., which 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 IPI’s real property.
The lawsuit stated that IPI had paid USA Fanter $300,000 only and the unpaid balance due was not less than $2,089,345.28.
The judge has issued a final judgment in favor of USA Fanter.
EEOC complaint
On Sept. 24, 2019, EEOC sued IPI for sexual harassment and unfair employment practices on behalf of Shirlene Loh, a VIP hostess, and other similarly aggrieved female employees.
EEOC named IPI, Best Sunshine International and IPI Holdings Limited as defendants, and unnamed individuals “who in some way or manner are responsible for the acts alleged in the complaint.”
EEOC alleged that IPI was engaged in unlawful discrimination when it subjected the claimants to unwelcome physical and verbal sexual harassment by male patrons, “which was sufficiently severe or pervasive to adversely affect the terms and conditions of their employment.”
IPI denied all the allegations or inference in the complaint, and asked the court to rule in its favor and dismiss the complaint with prejudice.
In April 2021, IPI agreed to settle the claims and resolve the lawsuit and entered into a consent decree with EEOC.
The consent decree was approved by the federal court on April 27, 2021.
But according to EEOC attorney Eric Yau, instead of complying fully with the various obligations of the decree, “defendants have, to date, only made the first three monthly monetary payments, totaling $60,000, and have been delinquent in making the August and September payments.”
In addition, Yau said, “defendants’ counsel only circulated a draft mortgage of the Flame Tree Terrace to the EEOC recently when the fully recorded secured instrument with respect to the Flame Tree Terrace, which is to be used as a collateral, should have been provided to the EEOC within 20 days of the decree.”
