THE Commonwealth Casino Commission on Tuesday scheduled for Jan. 21, 2021 a status conference on the complaints against Imperial Pacific International.
Commonwealth Casino Commission legal counsel Mike Ernest, left, talks to casino commissioners as attorney Michael Dotts, right standing, listens during last week’s meeting in the commission’s conference room.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
During its meeting on Tuesday, the casino commission also decided that if any of IPI officials show up without an attorney, IPI will be in default, which means that the commission, acting as an appellate court, can issue a decision in favor of the complainant, Casino Commission Executive Director Andrew Yeom said.
An unfavorable decision may lead to either the suspension or the revocation of IPI’s exclusive casino license.
Complaints were filed against IPI for violations of casino commission orders to timely pay IPI employees, settle in full its payables to all vendors, including manpower and construction agencies, and meet its obligations to the Commonwealth, including the $15.5 million license fee and the $3 million regulatory fee.
Attorney Michael Dotts, who suspended his representation of IPI in a Fair Labor Standards Act case filed by the U.S. Department of Labor, attended the meeting and informed the casino commissioners that his request for withdrawal was still going through process.
Saying that his client is in financial distress and cannot represent themselves in the casino commission hearings, he asked the commissioners to give IPI ample time “to work out who will be their attorney.”
For his part, casino commission legal counsel Mike Ernest said, “The executive director does not oppose the motion for withdrawal of Dotts provided that the hearings be held in February, and that IPI agrees it has two months to seek new counsel.”
Following the status conference on Jan. 21, the actual hearings on the five complaints against IPI will begin in the first week of February.
