A FORENSIC copy of Imperial Pacific International LLC chairwoman Cui Li Jie’s cell phone data is now available for the plaintiffs’ inspection, her attorney, Juan T. Lizama, said.
Cui Li Jie is a third-party witness in the lawsuit of seven construction workers who sued IPI and its former contractors, MCC International and Gold Mantis, over allegations of labor violations and human trafficking.
On March 31, 2021, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI ordered the IPI chairwoman to make a forensic copy of data from the cell phones that she had used since March 26, 2020.
The judge also directed the IPI chairwoman to include all data from her WeChat account and preserve all other electronically stored information or ESI within 14 days from the court order.
According to the judge, the plaintiffs are permitted to have a consultant verify that any ESI, including phone contents, were adequately preserved and that no data, particularly WeChat messages, were deleted prior to copying them.
On Tuesday, Lizama filed a certification and declaration, saying that he has in his possession a copy of the IPI chairwoman’s cell phone data in a USB now available for the plaintiffs’ consultant to inspect.
The plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan.
Represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline, they are seeking $3.86 million in compensatory damages and $7.72 million in punitive damages.
The plaintiffs have already reached a settlement agreement with MCC International and Gold Mantis.
Juan T. Lizama
