Court rejects IPI’s appeal against licence revocation hearing
The Commonwealth Casino Commission was allowed to continue its revocation proceedings against IPI’s casino licence.
Northern Mariana Islands.- The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Imperial Pacific International’s (IPI) request for a writ of certiorari to appeal the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which allowed the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) to move forward with the revocation hearing of the company’s casino licence.
Casino Commissioner Mariano Taitano expressed his satisfaction with the decision, stating that the CCC can now decide whether to revoke IPI’s licence or not.
According to Mariana’s Variety, commissioner Ramon Dela Cruz also welcomed the decision and added that IPI was given enough due process by the CNMI government in the enforcement actions filed by the commission against IPI’s failure to pay its annual casino licence, regulatory fees, and other obligations.
The CNMI Office of the Attorney General released a statement on Tuesday, noting that IPI sought the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of the Ninth Circuit order ruling that the CCC was not required to enter into non-binding arbitration regarding licence revocation proceedings and could continue with its revocation of IPI’s casino licence.
The statement further added that the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case left the Ninth Circuit ruling in place. Attorney General Edward E. Manibusan said: “this victory is important for the people of the Commonwealth in enforcing IPI’s failure to meet its contractual and statutory obligations to the people of the CNMI.”
IPI owes the CNMI over US$62m in licence fees and more than US$17.6m in regulatory fees for the years 2020 through 2023: US$79.6m in total.
