Pacific Rim asks the federal court to dismiss lawsuit against IPI

Pacific Rim Land Development, IPI’s former contractor, has asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit it filed against Imperial Pacific International LLC for breach of a construction contract.

Northern Mariana Islands.- Colin Thompson, the attorney representing contractor Pacific Rim, has said the company wants the federal court to dismiss a lawsuit it brought against IPI. Pacific Rim was one of the developers working on IPI’s resort construction in Garapan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. 

Thompson told the court that the lawsuit should be voluntarily dismissed with prejudice because Pacific Rim is ready to end the lawsuit and there is no reason to dismiss it without prejudice.

According to Mariana’s Variety, Thompson said: “It has been a long, tedious, contentious, and challenging task for Pacific Rim to collect payment for its work as the General Contractor for IPI’s casino and resort project.”

Thompson said that three-and-a-half years ago, “Pacific Rim and IPI mutually terminated the construction contract with the notable absence of any allegations that Pacific Rim breached the Contract. 

“Before the agreed termination, Pacific Rim and IPI resolved the matter of payment by negotiating the Promissory Note, that was executed simultaneously with the Notice of Mutual Termination.”

But because IPI failed to pay Pacific Rim as agreed, Pacific Rim sued IPI on three counts: breach of contract, breach of the promissory note, and quantum meruit. IPI then was sued after allegedly refusing to pay for work that had been done, and Pacific Rim was granted US$6.9m in compensation.

Last November, Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona approved Pacific Rim Land Development LLC’s request to release its $5.59m investment portfolio, consisting of short-term US government bonds with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.

Manglona previously ordered the immediate payment of $5.525m to Pacific Rim, which won a breach of contract lawsuit against Saipan casino investor Imperial Pacific International in the District Court. IPI filed an appeal, but the US Court of Appeals upheld the district court’s decision.

Thompson finally stated: “Given its success on the merits of that claim, Pacific Rim now wishes to end this litigation and the attendant expense and stress that will accompany discovery, further motion practice, and ultimately, trial on the merits of its other claims.”