The Supreme Court issued a ruling last week affirming in part and reversing in part the Superior’s Court decision in “Marine Revitalization Corp. v. Department of Lands and Natural Resources.”
The Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s order requiring the CNMI government to pay Pellegrino’s MRC “any money already appropriated for the payment of judgments.”
However, the higher court ruled that “the award of assignable tax credits to MRC to satisfy the judgment was in error; no part of DLNR’s budget or the income it derives from its operation of the Outer Cove Marina can be used to satisfy the judgment; federal funds cannot be garnished to satisfy the judgment and post-judgment interest does not accumulate against the government.”
The Superior Court, in its 2005 ruling, said the government should pay MRC $5.9 million.
Pellegrino, in an interview on Friday, said the money that he should have earned in marina development is gone because the CNMI government breached its contract with MRC by failing to require commercial boats to use the Outer Cove Marina.
Pellegrino said he is “not happy but not bitter” about the Supreme Court decision.
The ruling, he added, shows what investors have to deal with in the CNMI.
“It’s sad that the CNMI will lose credibility among future investors. The CNMI government and its people will lose more than I do,” he said.
If not for the government’s inaction, the Outer Cove Marina could have been contributing to the government’s coffers already, he added.
The marina now looks not only unsafe but is an “eyesore,” he said.
In a separate interview, Manglona, Ind.-Rota, said: “Mr. Pellegrino is correct. How can we make investors confident in the CNMI when the money owed by the government is not paid?”
He said the administration and the Legislature have to sit down and address the claims of Pellegrino, other government vendors, the Retirement Fund and land owners waiting for their land compensation payments.
He added, “The Legislature must look at these issues and work with the administration.”
He described the development of the Outer Cove Marina as a “great project” since the government did not have to put up its own money.
Pellegrino said he is willing to sit down with the Legislature and discuss an acceptable payment scheme.
It was his MRC that built the Outer Cove Marina for $3.5 million in 1995.
Under their agreement, the NMI government was supposed to pay MRC $800,000 and allow the company to recoup its construction cost from those using the slipping docks until the lease agreement expired on Aug. 21, 2010.
Despite the Jan. 2005 trial court order, the cash-strapped CNMI government has yet to pay MRC.
Its debt to MRC is now $8.5 million, including interest.
“I’m already 80 years old but I have kids. One is nine years old, one is 12 and one is 15. That money is for them,” Pellegrino said.
