“To be very frank, I simply do not have any reason to believe that there is enough political will at any level in the local government to decisively address the severe crisis that has beset the Fund and that has placed every single retiree, active government employee, and taxpayer at risk. I have sat through too many meetings of the Fund trustees, members of the Legislature, and the administration that were little more than exercises in futility and denial,” she added.
Jorgensen filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands last year on behalf of anonymous retirees who were referred to as “John Doe” and “Jane Roe.”
The lawsuit was later amended this year and named Saipan-based attorney David Price as a plaintiff.
In documents submitted to the court, Jorgensen said the members of the Fund’s board of trustees are all political appointees beholden to the governor.
He said a federal equity receiver should be appointed to oversee the Fund’s operations.
The Fund won by default its lawsuit against the CNMI government over unpaid contributions.
The Superior Court ruled that the government owed the Fund over $231 million in unpaid contributions as of April 2009.
Last week, Jorgensen notified the federal court and the counsels of the Fund’s board and administration about Sablan’s decision to join his case as a named plaintiff.
“Ms. Sablan, like Mr. Price, is keenly familiar with and knowledgeable about the U.S. court proceeding, has expressed her utmost support for the claims being raised and asserted on plaintiffs’ behalf in the U.S. court proceeding,” Jorgensen said.
“In addition to Ms. Sablan, other Fund retirees and beneficiaries, situated both within and without the CNMI —as well as multiple attorneys formerly employed by the CNMI — have expressed willingness/interest as to the prospect of joining the U.S. court proceeding as plaintiffs though, at present, joinder is being sought only as to Mr. Price and Ms. Sablan,” he added.
Sablan said the “almost complete lack of scrutiny that goes into appointments and confirmations of Fund board members” is a concern for her.
She also noted that Fund trustees admitted during meetings with the Legislature they were compelled to make riskier investments at higher returns because of the government’s failure to pay contributions.
“After the Fund trustees had finally filed their lawsuit in Superior Court, lawmakers still tried to pass legislation to increase retirement benefits without identifying a source of funding, and to provide for only partial payments of benefits to retirees for whom the government had failed to pay contributions in full despite questions about the constitutionality of this proposal,” she said.
“The administration has insisted on conducting its negotiations with the Fund trustees regarding the Superior Court judgment in secret, for reasons that are totally unclear and unjustified. Even today, the CNMI government is still failing to pay contributions to the Retirement Fund at the actuarial rate. These are just a few of the facts and circumstances that I took into consideration before deciding to join as a plaintiff in the lawsuit that has been filed in federal court. Enough is enough,” she added.
