Attorney Ramon K. Quichocho e-filed the class suit on behalf of the plaintiffs: Joaquin Q. Atalig, Janet U. Maratita, Jose P. Kiyoshi and Felipe Q. Atalig.
They want a jury trial.
Last year, Quichocho sued Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc. and Mariana Acquisition Corp. (Shell) for false advertisement, unfair or deceptive business practices and fraud.
The plaintiffs in that class action were Jose P. Kiyoshi, Felipe Q. Atalig, and Rabby F. Syed who accused the Mobil and Shell of conspiring to fix fuel prices in the commonwealth.
In that complaint, the islands’ two petroleum giants were described to have “acted as a cartel” in the commonwealth.
For this new class action, a Mobil staffer said their office had not received or seen copy of the complaint.
The new lawsuit accused Mobil of violation of the CNMI Constitution, negligence per se, gross negligence, strict liability, nuisance, battery, unfair or deceptive business practices, and punitive damages.
According to the complaint, “Every resident of the commonwealth…has the right, ensured by their Constitution, to a clean and healthful public environment in all areas, including the land, air, and water.
“For many years, however, Mobil…has violated the constitutional rights of the people of the CNMI by secretly or quietly neglecting to use the proper equipment to ensure that harmful chemicals did not leak into the environment.
Then Mobil made sure that there would be no evidence of the harmful emissions by failing to properly test for emissions.”
