Gov’t unsure whether to join class suit

A planned class-action suit against federal officials and private companies responsible for the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination in Tanapag has hit a snag as the CNMI government weighs whether or not to accept an offer from private lawyers to help in the litigation.

A proposed contract drafted by the Texas-based lawyers for the legal action has been sitting with the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office since their visit to Saipan early last month, according to House legal counsel Steve Mackenzie.

“It’s up to the attorney general and the governor to determine whether to hire them or not,” he told reporters in an interview yesterday. “As far as I know no determination has been made… and I don’t know why.”

Lawyers Charles S. Siegel and Andy Waters from Dallas were on island for four days in early May on the invitation of Rep. Dino M. Jones, chair of the House Resources Committee, following a resolution from the Legislature seeking a legal means to address the PCB problems in Tanapag.

They embarked on an initial investigation on the conditions of the northern coastal village and its residents as well as a discussion with the people and island officials on how to go about the planned lawsuit.

While there was no agreement reached during the visit, the lawyers submitted a proposal to the government concerning their work, said Mr. Mr. Mackenzie who added that the contract does not require any expenditure of public funds.

“It’s only contingency fee. They only get paid if they win,” he explained. “If they recover nothing, they get paid nothing.”

In fact, according to the House legal counsel, they spent over $12,000 out of their pocket just to make the trip after he asked them to see the situation in Tanapag.

“How can they work without a contract? They don’t want to work without knowing whether they are going to get paid. They need to know that they’ve got a client and there’s attorney-client relationship that needs to be established,” he said.

Urgent matter

He also disclosed that there is a resolution pending in the lower house from Mr. Jones urging the AGO and Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio to give “immediate consideration” to the contract.

Attorney General Herbert D. Soll was unavailable for comment. But he said during the lawyer’s visit of the lawyers that his office may tap their services to assist them in seeking damages for the contamination.

He also emphasized in early May that a decision would be made “soon” in consultation with the governor whether or not the planned lawsuit will be handled by private lawyers or not.

Now nearly a month later, there is no contract as of yet with the government or whether the two lawyers have signed up any individual plaintiff in Tanapag to push the case, Mr. Mackenzie said.

“If [the government] want to put this out for bids, if they want to look for other lawyers, get moving and do it because, clearly the [AGO] and the House and the Senate legal counsel have been ordered by resolution to prosecute this matter and collect on behalf of the Commonwealth that don’t have the experience and the resources to do this,” he said.

“This is a big case. It needs help and I just hope that the executive branch will get organized and decide who is going to be helping us and do it soon. The longer we wait, the more difficult this is going to get,” added Mr. Mackenzie.

Both Mr. Siegel and Mr. Waters had expressed confidence of putting up a stronger case in proving that PCB contamination in the village has caused learning disability among children, although they said they face an uphill battle to prove that negligence of federal authorities have caused damage to public health.

Amid growing concerns among Tanapag residents, both local and federal authorities in recent weeks have begun to address the problem, such as by opening up a clinic in the village for medical test, gathering of samples of soil and food as well as scheduling a cleanup in the most affected area by July.

PCB’s and dioxins were found in electrical capacitors abandoned by the military during the ’60s on the island. Studies show they caused cancer in animals and that people exposed to the chemical for a long time can experience nose, lung and skin irritation.