Court grants trustee’s request for compensation

The U.S. District Court for the NMI has granted Settlement Fund trustee Joyce C.H. Tang’s request for compensation for work she has performed on behalf of the CNMI Settlement Fund since March 2023.

On Sept. 25, 2013, the court appointed Civille and Tang, PLLC, acting by and through its principal representative Joyce C.H. Tang, as the trustee for the Settlement Fund.

Pursuant to the terms of the appointment, the trustee now requests compensation for work performed and expenses incurred during the months of March 2023 through August 2023.

District Court designated judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood has granted Tang’s request for compensation for work done from March 2023 to August 2023 and has ordered the Settlement Fund to pay her over $21,000.

“The court has reviewed these invoices and finds the request for compensation and reimbursement of expenses to be reasonable. The court is satisfied with the work performed by the trustee during this time frame. Therefore, pursuant to the terms of the order re Appointment of Trustee, the court orders the Settlement Fund to pay the trustee $21,218.49,” said the judge.

This amount, the judge stated in her order, represents 90% of the trustee’s professional fees and all expenses and gross receipts taxes incurred during the months of March 2023 through August 2023.

The court further orders the Settlement Fund to hold in trust to the credit of the trustee the sum of $2,069, which represents 10% of the trustee’s professional fees for this time period.

“The trustee may petition for release of this 10% retainer on a quarterly basis, subject to the court’s satisfaction of the trustee’s work and any objections to the Trustee’s compensation requests. Objections to the Trustee’s request for remuneration may be made within 10 days of this order by the plaintiff, class counsel, and counsel for the CNMI government,” said Tydingco-Gatewood.

Finally, Tang asked for the release of the 10% retainer withheld from its invoices for services rendered during the months of September 2022 through February 2023.

“There being no objection to said invoices and the court being satisfied with the trustee’s work, the court orders the Settlement Fund to pay the trustee the additional sum of $4,007.10,” said the order.

Tang recently provided the District Court for the NMI with an extensive report on the Settlement Fund’s standing.

As part of her report, Tang stated that the CNMI government struggles to make payments to the Settlement Fund due to economic constraints following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joyce C. Tang