IMPERIAL Pacific International has asked the federal court to dismiss without prejudice the claims IPI filed against Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and the Commonwealth Casino Commission, both in their official and personal capacities, for, among other things, breach of the Casino License Agreement or CLA.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI on Tuesday dismissed without prejudice IPI’s complaint and directed the clerk of court to close the case. Without prejudice means it can be refiled.
In her order, the judge noted that the defendants “have neither filed an answer nor a motion for summary judgment.”
The commission was supposed to hold a license revocation hearing on Jan. 31, but it was rescheduled for Feb. 12, 2024, due to ongoing settlement discussions with IPI.
“We hope to have a meaningful resolution in February,” CCC Executive Director Andrew Yeom told the commission on Tuesday.
He said the settlement discussion began with IPI taking “the initiative to dismiss their civil claims.”
Represented by attorneys Stephen Nutting and Michael Chen, IPI earlier sued the governor and CCC “for unconstitutional impairment of contract, violation of the contract clause of the U.S. and CNMI constitutions, violation of the takings clause of the U.S. Constitution, violation of the due process clauses of the U.S. and CNMI Constitutions, and breach of the CLA.”
The lawsuit asked the court to issue an order stating that “IPI is exempt or excepted from, or not subject to, the terms of the regulatory fee because of the express terms of the CLA entered into by IPI and CNMI prior to the enactment of the annual regulatory fees statute.”
IPI said the court should also issue a declaration stating that the regulatory fee statute, as applied to IPI, is unconstitutional.
According to the commission, IPI has failed to pay the $15.5 million annual casino license fee and $3.15 million in annual regulatory fee for the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. IPI’s debts to the CNMI government now amount to over $62 million in casino license fees and $17.6 million in regulatory fees, the commission said.
