THE NMI Settlement Fund’s claim of overpayment of retirement benefits against a decedent is outside the probate court’s jurisdiction in accordance with the Settlement Fund administrative appeal process approved by the federal court, SF attorney Nicole Torres-Ripple said.
The SF claim, she added, is unrelated to the construction of a will, determination of heirs and successors, and the administration of the probate proceeding.
The SF, represented by Torres-Ripple, has requested the District Court for the NMI to intervene and order a stay in the probate proceeding of the Estate of Manuel Villagomez.
In response to designated federal Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood’s order directing the SF to discuss “whether the probate exception to federal exception is applicable,” Torres-Ripple said, “The NMI District Court has exclusive jurisdiction over all matters relating to the Settlement Agreement and the Settlement Fund, and the District Court is the proper forum in which to decide the Probate Action Issues.”
The narrow probate exception simply does not apply to the issues at hand, Torres-Ripple added.
Judge Tydingco-Gatewood will hear the SF’s motion on Feb. 1, 2022 at 9 a.m.
According to its emergency motion, the SF has a claim against the Estate of Manuel Villagomez based on an overpayment in retirement benefits paid prior to his passing.
The SF’s claim for recovery of the overpayment in the amount of $56,913.77 is a monetary claim against the estate and does not involve challenges to the appointment of an administratrix, probate or annulment of a will —“matters that would invoke this narrow probate exception to federal jurisdiction,” Torres-Ripple said in her supplemental brief.
She said the SF claim does not trigger the probate exception and therefore does not preclude the federal court’s exclusive jurisdiction.
She is asking the court to grant the relief requested by the SF.
The decedent, Manuel B. Villagomez, passed away on May 10, 2021, and was a member of the Settlement Class at the time of his death.
The Settlement Fund said it is a creditor of the estate, and it timely filed a notice of claim in the probate action in CNMI Superior Court on Nov. 1, 2021.
The Settlement Fund seeks a stay, injunction and declaratory relief for the probate case and an order declaring that the District Court for the NMI has exclusive jurisdiction over any matters pertaining to or arising under the settlement agreement that created the SF.
The Settlement Fund also requested for an order directing a stay of all proceedings by any court outside the NMI District Court from issuing orders adjudicating rights and liabilities of the Settlement Fund or its members pertaining to the settlement agreement.
Also, it requested an order enjoining the administratrix from asserting any claims or defenses, or seeking any relief related to the settlement agreement and the Settlement Fund’s claim against the decedent Manuel B. Villagomez in any court other than the NMI District Court.
For his part, CNMI Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho, who is presiding over the probate proceeding in the local court, has vacated the deadlines and the hearing date on the creditor claim issue.
Judge Camacho likewise directed the SF to supplement its legal memorandum/motion to stay as to the jurisdiction issue filed on Jan. 19, 2022 “with legal authority, if any, and provide legal analyses so the court and the parties can better understand its position and to avoid unnecessary waste of judiciary resources and to facilitate a robust record.”
Judge Camacho scheduled a hearing on SF’s motion for April 4, at 10 a.m.
