Zaji Zajradhara
DESIGNATED Federal Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood has denied Zaji Zajradhara’s motion for reconsideration in his $100 million lawsuit against Northern Marianas College.
In her order issued on Monday, the judge said “Zajradhara again fails to cite to any authority that would support granting a stay on the basis of pending legislation….”
The judge also denied Zajradhara’s request for herself to recuse from the case.
Zajradhara alleges that the “connection between Judge Tydingco-Gatewood and Judge [Ramona] Manglona, coupled with the dismissive language used in the order, creates a reasonable perception that the court may not be entirely impartial in this matter.”
Judge Tydingco-Gatewood said Zajradhara appears to argue that the Northern Mariana Islands district court’s treatment of another case — one which she is not presiding over and has no knowledge about — also warrants her recusal from this matter.
“The undersigned has found no objective basis on which a reasonable person might question her impartiality,” Judge Tydingco-Gatewood said.
Zajradhara filed two motions for stay of proceedings after the federal court dismissed — with leave to amend — his first amended complaint in December 2024.
Zajradhara, who represents himself, requested a stay of the proceedings while he is “pursuing critical legislative remedies directly relevant to the underlying issues of this case.”
He said he is awaiting a response from U.S. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, the White House, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other relevant federal governmental entities regarding the letter he sent proposing amendments to the CNMI’s exclusion from various provisions of the 14th Amendment.
On Feb. 18, Judge Tydingco-Gatewood denied his motion for stay, saying it was “bereft of citation to any authority which would authorize a stay under these circumstances, [and they are] bereft of common sense.”
Citing prior rulings, she said: “If courts were to stay action every time new legislation was introduced, the judicial system would grind to a halt.”
“Here,” she added, “there is not even pending legislation to support Zajradhara’s motions to stay proceedings; Zajradhara has merely sent a letter to a Congressional representative, the White House, and the Office of the United States Attorney General.”
In his first amended complaint against NMC, Zajradhara named NMC President Galvin Guerrero, NMC-SBDC Network Director Nadine Guerrero, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Guam Branch Manager Ken Lujan, and three Doe defendants “who, at the time of the incident may or may not have been employees or agents” of NMC, [the Small Business Development Center] or the CNMI government and acted under color of state law.”
Zajradhara alleges civil rights violations, saying he was denied access to federally funded programs, which caused public humiliation, mental anguish, pain and suffering. He also alleged false allegations/slander, attempted false arrest, extortionist threats, and retaliation.
Zajradhara demanded $100 million in damages for “loss of business opportunities, reputational harm, emotional distress, public harassment, threats of false arrest, and the deprivation of his access to federally funded programs and services.”
The complaint
In his complaint, Zajradhara said he is a small business owner and program director of a local nonprofit, who, since 2019, has been seeking assistance from the CNMI-SBA STEP Program and the NMC- SBA SBDC Program.
He said he was discriminated against and denied access to both of these federally funded programs, adding that “this discrimination stemmed from personal conflicts and biases held by defendants, rather than any legitimate business reasons.”
Zajradhara likewise alleged that he was subjected to public harassment and threats of false arrest by the defendants.
He said that since 2019, he has repeatedly reported the alleged “discrimination, denial of access, public harassment, and threats of false arrest” he experienced from Lujan, requesting a “fair and neutral investigation…in accordance with SBA regulations and policies.”
Zajradhara said that despite his requests, Lujan has failed to “fairly, equally, or neutrally contact or interview any of the parties involved.”
Zajradhara included over 300 pages of exhibits, consisting of strings of various email snippets with government employees, allegations of unfair treatment and misuse of federal funds, a CNMI House of Representatives resolution, the multiple complaint forms he has filed with government agencies, his various project proposals, and his various applications for funds administered by CNMI programs.
In addition, Zajradhara included various documents related to the CNMI court case in which NMC filed a complaint against Zajradhara for harassing SBDC employees and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction against him, “bar[ring] [him] from communicating with the SBDC or its employees and prohibit[ing] him from coming within 500 yards of the SBDC or any SBDC event.”
Counterclaims
Judge Tydingco-Gatewood noted that, in response to NMC’s complaint, Zajradhara asserted federal counterclaims under Section 1983, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Title VI, and the First Amendment.
“It further appears that Zajradhara appealed to the Superior Court’s order granting NMC’s request for a preliminary injunction on May 14, 2024, and that he filed an ‘appeal’ with the CNMI Supreme Court on October 7, 2024. Both filings assert federal claims under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, Title VI, and the First Amendment,” the judge said.
However, she added, Zajradhara has not provided any information or even alleged that a final judgment has been reached in NMC’s lawsuit against him for harassment in Superior Court.
Dismissed
Judge Tydingco-Gatewood dismissed with prejudice Zajradhara’s Section 1983 claims for damages against Galvin Guerrero and Nadine Guerrero for being frivolous. With prejudice means it cannot be refiled.
Zajradhara’s Section 1983 claims for declaratory and injunctive relief against Galvin Guerrero and Nadine Guerrero were also dismissed without prejudice, which means it can be refiled.
The judge dismissed with prejudice Zajradhara’s Section 1983 and Bivens claims against Lujan for being frivolous.
(A Bivens claim is a type of civil rights lawsuit that allows individuals to seek monetary damages from federal officials who, acting under the color of federal authority, allegedly violate their constitutional rights. This legal remedy was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 [1971].)
The judge dismissed without prejudice Zajradhara’s Section 1983 claims against the three Does for failure to state a claim.
She said Zajradhara must file a second amended complaint by Jan. 22, 2025, “failing to do so may result in dismissal of the case.”
Zajradhara asked for an extension to file, which was granted on Jan. 13.
He filed a motion for stay on Jan. 27 and Feb. 18, 2025.
In recent years, Zajradhara has been known to file multiple complaints and lawsuits against CNMI business establishments.