FOLLOWING a recent fire, Imperial Pacific International LLC now has security personnel manning both the front and back entrances to the casino site on a full-time basis, attorney Kevin T. Abikoff told the federal court.
Abikoff, who represents IPI in the lawsuit filed by seven construction workers, filed a report regarding security and a recent fire at the hotel-casino construction site, after Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona of the District Court for the NMI on June 9 requested a status report.
“On June 6, 2022,” Abikoff said, “a fire broke out in the rear construction yard adjacent to the back entrance to the casino resort site. The fire appears to have begun sometime between approximately 10:24 a.m., when IPI’s security supervisor passed through the construction yard while performing patrol activities, and 10:55 a.m., when the security supervisor identified smoke from the construction yard and made contact with a Saipan firefighter who had already responded to the scene due to reports of smoke near Garapan,”
Abikoff said, based on a later conversation between IPI’s security supervisor and Saipan Police Officer Francis Leightly, it appears that police first noticed the smoke and requested a fire department response.
“At this time, IPI is unaware of the cause of the fire; IPI has requested an incident report from the Saipan Fire Department, but has not yet received that report,” Abikoff said.
Firefighters arrived at the IPI site at approximately 10:55 a.m., at which time IPI’s security supervisor instructed them to break a padlock securing IPI’s rear entrance in order to quickly gain access to the construction yard, Abikoff said.
Firefighters entered the construction yard and quickly extinguished the fire, he added.
“Fire department personnel then conducted a site assessment before departing the casino resort site at 12:02 p.m.,” Abikoff said.
“The fire was concentrated on the east side of the rear construction yard, near where construction materials are stacked, including spools of electrical wires, waterproofing membranes, decorative metal frames, stones, steel wires, and glass fiber reinforced concrete or GRC panels. Some of these construction materials, particularly the water proofing membranes, suffered extensive heat damage. There was no damage to the IPI structure or to any materials contained inside the casino site,” Abikoff added.
Prior to the fire, he said IPI had a security checkpoint at the front entrance to the IPI resort building that was manned full-time — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — by IPI security personnel.
Security personnel also regularly make patrols throughout the IPI site, Abikoff added.
The rear entrance to the casino resort site remained closed and locked, but was previously manned only on a part-time, not a full-time, basis, he said.
On the weekend prior to the fire, IPI had a security officer assigned to the rear entrance from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., Friday–Sunday (June 3-5), the IPI attorney told the court.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, in a statement issued on June 8, stated that the fire “engulfed piles of rubbish and lumber debris” on June 6, 2022, and remained under investigation.
“Investigation and interviews confirmed that the fire was isolated to one area. There were no reported injuries or fatalities on the scene,” the fire department added.
Lawsuit
As to the lawsuit of the seven construction workers against IPI, the federal court recently directed the Commonwealth Casino Commission to file its objections, if any, to the sale of IPI’s casino gaming machines pursuant to the receivership no later than June 30, 2022.
IPI, for its part, opposed the lifting of the stay on the limited receivership.
The plaintiffs were previously employed by IPI’s former contractor and subcontractor, MCC International and Gold Mantis, both of which have already settled with the workers.
On May 26, 2021, the federal court entered a default judgment against IPI and in favor of the workers plus post-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees for a total amount of $5.9 million.
IPI has filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Recently, Judge Manglona said IPI had failed to comply with its obligation under the stay agreement with the seven workers by not making a required payment on May 1 and failing to cure the default within 10 days.
On May 31, 2022, the judge ordered American Contractors Indemnity Company to release to the plaintiffs the $3 million secured by IPI’s appeal bond.
Represented by attorneys Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline, the plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan. They have sued over allegations of labor abuse and human trafficking.
