Dana Gutierrez
CNMI Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro has appointed Guam Judge Dana A. Gutierrez as judge pro tempore in the lawsuit filed by former Department of Public Works Public Information Officer Felipe Q. Atalig against DPW.
In his order on May 21, 2024, Castro stated that CNMI Superior Court Presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja “has informed the [CNMI Supreme] Court that the sitting judges in the Superior Court have recused themselves from the above-referenced matter,” referring to Atalig’s lawsuit.
Castro said under Article IV, Section 9(d) of the CNMI Constitution, and in furtherance of the prompt and efficient dispatch of court business, the chief justice may designate a judge pro tempore as necessary.
He said Gutierrez is hereby designated and appointed to serve as judge pro tempore in this matter.
“Unless good cause be shown otherwise, Judge Pro Tempore Gutierrez shall have full authority to serve in this matter and shall carry out the duties and power inherent with the appointment,” Castro said.
For almost six years now, Atalig, who represents himself, has been pursuing his lawsuit against DPW for terminating him in March 2018 for sexual harassment. He has denied the allegation. He said when he put his hand into a male engineer’s pocket, he was just demonstrating a point during an argument.
Atalig also included the Civil Service Commission as respondent in the case because DPW’s PIO is a civil service position.
In an interview on Tuesday, Atalig, who will be 84 in October, said, “Regardless of which judge my case is assigned to, I am very optimistic of the outcome of this case. I have argued in court. I have not lost during all the proceedings of the court. I am confident that I will prevail.”
He earlier said that “the more they delay this, the more expensive this is going to be for the CNMI government.”
In April 2024, he said DPW made a settlement offer amounting to $80,000, which he turned down, saying that he was denied administrative leave for six years and was owed over $350,000.
Atalig is a former member of the Marianas District Legislature and the Congress of Micronesia, and was a delegate to the NMI’s first constitutional convention in 1976.
