In a hearing last week through video conferencing, the judge also said that she is inclined to order the parties to mediate. She ordered Pacific Rim attorney Colin Thompson to submit a proposal by April 9 with respect to fees and interest that IPI is liable to pay. IPI attorney Joseph Horey, for his part, was ordered to respond no later than April 23. In addition, Thompson was ordered to prepare and submit to the court for review a proposed order for summary judgment.
Moreover, Judge Manglona said she has reconsidered the submission of a certified question with respect to the mechanic’s lien issue and instead will issue an order on Pacific Rim’s lien application.
The judge, however, denied without prejudice Pacific Rim’s motion to quash IPI’s subpoena.
According to Pacific Rim’s lawsuit, IPI refused to pay $5.65 million for substantially completed or completed agreed-upon construction work for IPI’s casino-resort project on Sept. 30, 2018.
Pacific Rim also filed an application for a mechanic’s lien on IPI’s hotel-casino project and on the land that it sits on. An online legal dictionary states that a mechanic’s lien “empowers and enables contractors, suppliers, and others that work in the construction industry to get paid the money they’ve earned on their projects and jobs.”
In response to the lawsuit, IPI stated that Pacific Rim intentionally overstated the costs it incurred in the construction of the defendant’s hotel/casino project in Garapan. “Pacific Rim fraudulently obtained from IPI a promissory note, which is therefore unenforceable,” the casino investor added.
