‘Palacios mum on CCC request to use unspent $250K arbitration funds’
The Commonwealth Casino Commission board is still awaiting Gov. Arnold I. Palacios’ response to the board’s letter sent over a month ago requesting the use of an unspent $250,000 so it could hire an executive director and five other personnel to assist the commission for three months.
In response to Saipan Tribune’s inquiry about the CCC board’s request, CCC board chair Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero said yesterday that there has been no response yet from Palacios regarding their request.
DeLeon Guerrero said also disclosed that the CCC did not receive a penny from the $94,000-plus award issued by the U.S. District Court for the NMI from the bond’s forfeiture pertaining to the court’s injunction order forcing the CCC to enter into arbitration.
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona awarded CCC $94,068 in fees and costs for the expenses it incurred during the arbitration proceedings.
Manglona directed the clerk of court to immediately release $94,068 to the CCC from the $100,000 bond provided by IPI.
The preliminary injunction prohibited CCC from revoking IPI’s exclusive casino license while the casino investor pursued its right to arbitration.
Arbitration is a procedure wherein two parties agree on one or more arbitrators to decide on their dispute in order to resolve a disagreement outside of court proceedings.
The three-day arbitration hearing in Honolulu, Hawaii was completed last May, but before arbitrator Thomas J. Brewer could issue a decision, the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling.
At the CCC board’s monthly meeting last Sept. 28, DeLeon Guerrero disclosed that he made the request in a letter to Palacios dated Sept. 9, 2023, and that the governor has yet to reply.
The chairman said they need that funding to continue their work in the coming months toward either a global settlement on the amounts owed by Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC, or license revocation and the issuance of a new license.
Aside from hiring back the CCC executive director, the commission plans, with the governor’s approval, to hire a special assistant to the commission, a manager for the Division of Enforcement and Investigations, a manager for the Human Resources Division, an administrator, and a maintenance staff.
The previous Torres administration reserved $350,000 for the arbitration costs against IPI. Only $100,000 was spent, leaving a $250,000 balance.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court for the NMI’s order compelling the CCC to subject to its complaints against IPI to arbitration.
Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero
