Court grants IPI extension in CCC lawsuits

Imperial Pacific International has until May 17 to respond to the CNMI government’s motion to dismiss its lawsuit.

Northern Mariana Islands.- A District Court has granted Imperial Pacific International (IPI) extra time to respond to the NMI government’s request to dismiss its lawsuits against Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) officials and governor Arnold I. Palacios. The court turned down IPI’s request for more time to submit a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint.

The casino operator now has until May 17 to file its response. The judge found no evidence of bad faith on IPI’s part and stated that no one would be negatively affected if the extension was granted. The judge noted that there’s no deadline to file a motion for leave to file a second amended complaint, so IPI’s request was denied on this basis.

IPI launched the legal action in January claiming unconstitutional impairment of contract, violation of the contract clause of the US and CNMI constitutions, violation of the takings clause of the US Constitution, violation of the due process clauses of the US and CNMI Constitutions and breach of the casino licence agreement (CLA). It claimed the CCC did not provide due process when it deliberated on revoking IPI’s exclusive casino licence.

Last month, IPI filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating that the company owes creditors more than US$165.8m. Creditors have accused the casino operator of misusing its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.