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Aranza seeks transfer of NMI lawsuit to federal court
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Posted on Sep 03 2008
Former Office of Insular Affairs director Ferdinand G. Aranza and his consulting firm, Federated Sector Enterprises LLC, asked yesterday to be allowed to transfer the CNMI government’s lawsuit against them from the local court to the federal court.
Attorney Colin M. Thompson, counsel for Aranza and Federated Sector Enterprises, said his clients assert their right under the law to remove the CNMI government’s lawsuit from the Superior Court.
In the notice of removal, Thompson said the U.S. District Court for the NMI has original jurisdiction in this lawsuit based upon diversity jurisdiction.
The lawyer said the CNMI government and defendants are completely diverse in that none of the defendants have residency in the Commonwealth and that the alleged damages are in excess of $75,000.
In the civil lawsuit filed last July, the CNMI government, through the Attorney General’s Office, alleged that the Federal Sector Enterprises, a consulting firm managed by Aranza, bilked the CNMI of more than $130,000 through a contract directing the company to write a port security plan for the Commonwealth, which it allegedly plagiarized.
The case allegedly stemmed from a contract that then Gov. Juan N. Babauta inked with Aranza’s company in 2003 to develop a plan to win additional Department of Homeland Security funding.
