USA Fanter Corp. Ltd. has filed another lawsuit against Imperial Pacific International LLC in federal court.
USA Fanter, through attorney Colin Thompson, is suing IPI for breach of contract.
The lawsuit alleges that IPI failed to pay a construction staging lease agreement and construction contract that involved quarry products and heavy equipment rentals.
The 15-page complaint asked the District Court for the NMI to issue an order in favor of USA Fanter and to award it with “general compensatory and consequential damages in amounts to be shown in accordance with proof at the time of trial.”
USA Fanter also wants the court to award it $61,600 for rent due pursuant to the staging lease agreement; $87,772.55 for amounts due for work completed under the construction contract as described in the change order; and an award of $15,462 for the provision, supply, and delivery of the quarry materials as described in the oral contract and quarry delivery slips.
Moreover, USA Fanter asked the court to award it $61,292.50 for the provision, supply, delivery and rental of the heavy equipment as described in the equipment rental contracts and as evidenced in the signed invoices for the heavy equipment after delivery to IPI.
USA Fanter is likewise asking for attorney’s fees and costs and litigation fees and costs and all related fees and costs as otherwise may be provided by contract or by law.
According to the lawsuit, on or about Dec. 15, 2015, IPI leased property from USA Fanter by the execution of a staging lease agreement with the term commencing on Feb. 22, 2016, and ending on Dec. 31, 2018, with no right to extend the term of the lease.
Pursuant to the lease, IPI agreed to pay plaintiff rent on or before the 25th day of each month.
IPI did make some payments to USA Fanter for its occupancy of the property, and plaintiff accepted these payments on a month-to-month basis.
Because IPI was only occupying a portion of the property, the monthly payments during this holdover period were reduced to only $5,600 per month.
Thompson said the last payment IPI made to plaintiff for its holdover occupancy of the portion of the property was for July 2019.
Even though IPI stopped making any payments to plaintiff for its continued occupancy of the property, defendant continued to occupy and make use of the property, the lawsuit added.
“Defendant continued to occupy and make use of the property through June of 2020 when defendant finally removed the material it was staging on the property. Defendant has not paid any rent to plaintiff for the months of August, September October, November and December of 2019, as well as January, February, March, April, May and June of 2020. These unpaid rental amounts come to $61,600,” Thompson said.
The lawyer said USA Fanter served IPI with invoices for the amounts outstanding for the occupancy and use of the property.
“Defendant has not responded to these invoices or demands for payment,” Thompson added.
Thompson said USA Fanter and IPI also executed a written construction contract for construction of off-site improvements.
IPI requested that USA Fanter perform construction work that was beyond the scope of the construction contract, the lawyer said. On Nov. 20, 2018, plaintiff submitted to IPI a change order proposal detailing the cost breakdown of the additional work, which totaled $87,772.55.
On March 28, 2019, IPI sent USA Fanter a signed letter agreeing to the change order and agreeing to pay plaintiff $87,772.55 “upon completion of the change order work,” the lawsuit added.
In July of 2019, USA Fanter completed all of the work pursuant to the change order, Thompson said. “Plaintiff repeatedly demanded that defendant pay all amounts due and owing for work performed pursuant to the change order and construction contract. Despite repeated requests and demands for payment, defendant failed and refused to pay plaintiff the $87,772.55 due.”
As for the complaint regarding the nonpayment of ordered quarry products and heavy equipment rental, according to Thompson, “During the month of July of 2019, IPI ordered that USA Fanter procure and deliver quarry products to defendant and defendant agreed to pay plaintiff for the quarry products.”
USA Fanter acquired and delivered quarry products to IPI, Thompson said. “These consisted of multiple deliveries from USA Fanter to IPI and each time IPI signed a quarry delivery slip to confirm defendant had received the quarry products.”
Despite repeated requests and demands for payment, Thompson added, “IPI failed and refused to pay USA Fanter the $14,742.00 due and owing for the quarry products delivered.”
Thompson said, during the months of July, August and September of 2019, IPI ordered that USA Fanter procure and deliver three cranes and one boom truck for it to rent.
USA Fanter acquired and delivered three cranes and one boom truck to IPI for rent during the months of July, August and September of 2019.
“These consisted of multiple deliveries from plaintiff to defendant and each time defendant signed a heavy equipment rental invoice to confirm defendant had received the heavy equipment and agreed to the terms and conditions of the rentals.”
Despite repeated requests and demands for payment, Thompson said, IPI failed and refused to pay plaintiff the $61,292.50 due and owing for the heavy equipment delivered.
According to Thompson, without factoring interest or late fees, IPI owes USA Fanter $61,600.00 for unpaid property rent, $87,772.55 for the unpaid change order work, $15,462 for unpaid quarry materials, and $61,292.50 for unpaid heavy equipment rentals comprising a total of $226,127.05.
USA Fanter, in an earlier lawsuit pending in federal court, sued IPI for its failure to pay the full amount due to plaintiff under their construction contract for labor and materials provided for the improvement of IPI’s real property.
The lawsuit stated that IPI had paid USA Fanter $300,000 only and the unpaid balance due was not less than $2,089,345.28.
The judge has issued a final judgment in favor of USA Fanter, and since the judgment has not been satisfied, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona will issue a limited appointment of receivership for the sale of IPI assets.
USA Fanter also sued IPI for defamation. The federal court has scheduled a settlement conference for the parties for Nov. 4, 2021 at 9 a.m.
In that lawsuit, USA Fanter Corporation accused IPI of making libelous statements in a press release it transmitted to and published by the two local newspapers, Marianas Variety and Saipan Tribune.
