SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Wesley Bogdan has granted the request of James Quitugua Reyes for a partial summary judgment, ruling that he is not required to name a specific Commonwealth employee in order to sue the CNMI government in tort.
“Plaintiff’s complaint is not defective for lack of a named employee,” the judge said.
Represented by attorney Joseph Horey, Reyes has sued the CNMI government for negligence and is demanding a jury trial.
He is seeking an award of undetermined damages to be proven in trial, attorney’s fees, and other relief.
According to the complaint, in March 2017, the plaintiff’s brother-in-law, Garabed O. Mirzoian, was referred to Guam for medical treatment pursuant to the CNMI medical referral program.
Reyes traveled with Mirzoian as a family escort.
Accommodation for Mirzoian was arranged at the Verona Resort & Spa on Guam by the CNMI Office of Medical Referral Services.
On or about March 10, 2017, at approximately 11 p.m., while a guest at the Verona, the plaintiff was standing in its parking lot when he was assaulted by an unknown person or persons.
Because of the assault, he sustained injuries to his person and was taken to Guam Memorial Hospital where he was treated for his injuries, incurring medical expenses.
As a consequence of the assault, the plaintiff said he suffered severe pain and suffering.
The parking lot of the Verona where the plaintiff was assaulted was dimly lit, unattended, and unequipped with any measures protecting the safety of guests using it, his lawsuit stated.
“On information and belief, the Verona is situated in an area where criminal activity is sufficiently common that the hotel’s existing security measures were inadequate to reasonably ensure the safety of its guests when using the parking lot,” the lawsuit added.
It stated that the Commonwealth conducted periodic inspections of the Verona, for the purpose of confirming its suitability for referral of patients and escorts pursuant to the medical referral program, and therefore knew or should have known of the conditions there, the lawsuit stated.
Furthermore, the Commonwealth had received multiple prior complaints from persons for whom it had arranged accommodations at the Verona regarding a wide variety of unsafe and unhealthy conditions at the Verona, the lawsuit added.
For these reasons, the Commonwealth knew or should have known that referral to the Verona posed an unreasonable risk of harm to the plaintiff, the lawsuit stated.
Prior to filing the lawsuit against the Commonwealth, the plaintiff presented his claim to the attorney general pursuant to 7 CMC § 2202(b), but the AG denied his claim, the lawsuit added.
In a six-page order, Judge Bogdan noted that the parties had requested summary judgment as to the limited procedural question of whether or not an employee of the Commonwealth must be named before bringing an action against the Commonwealth under the Government Liability Act.
The plaintiff filed the lawsuit on Feb. 26, 2019.
Judge Bogdan in his ruling said “a plain reading of the statute shows that the CNMI’s Commonwealth Employees Liability Reform and Tort Compensation Act (CELRTCA) substitution/certification process is only necessary if a complaint is not first filed against the Commonwealth.”
He added, “The obvious implication is that cases directly filed against the Commonwealth do not need further action or correction because the complaint has appropriately been filed against the proper defendant.”
The judge said “based upon a plain statutory reading and our Supreme Court’s determination of the purpose and function of CELRTCA, a specific employee does not need to be named in order for a plaintiff to sue the Commonwealth in tort.”
Reyes also sued the operator of Verona — Polaris Guam LLC — in CNMI Superior Court. In Sept. 2019, Reyes was awarded $96,236.50 in damages.
