OAG declines to represent Saipan mayor

CNMI Attorney General Edward Manibusan has informed Saipan Mayor Ramon Blas Camacho, who is being sued by Construction & Material Supply over alleged unpaid invoices, that the OAG cannot represent him in the lawsuit.

Citing the CNMI Constitution, Manibusan said the OAG does not legally represent mayors or any agencies of the municipalities.

CMS’ complaint arises from unpaid invoices for quarry products provided to Camacho’s office.

“CMS has provided this office with a copy of its complaint against you as the mayor of Saipan and the Municipality of Saipan. …Under the Commonwealth Constitution, the Office of the Attorney General does not provide legal representation to the mayors or any agencies of the municipalities,” Manibusan said in a recent letter to Camacho.

Manibusan advised Camacho to hire a private lawyer instead.

That prompted Camacho to hire Michael N. Evangelista as his lawyer in responding to the lawsuit. Last Wednesday, Evangelista filed with the Superior Court a notice of appearance as counsel for Camacho.

In addition to his notice of appearance as Camacho’s lawyer, Evangelista also gave notice that the defense intends to move for the dismissal of the case before Nov. 20, citing Commonwealth Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6).

“Service of the summons and complaint is acknowledged…to have been effected not earlier than Oct. 19, 2023, with an answer or other response thereby due within 30 days. Accordingly, no response is due earlier than Monday, Nov. 20,” he said.

In response to CMS citing United States v. Borja, Evangelista said that that particular court decision—which says that a municipality can sue or be sued—only applies to the Rota and Tinian municipalities.

“Plaintiff is also put on notice that United States v. Borja, 2003 MP 8, cited in paragraph 5 of the complaint, does not hold that the Municipality of Saipan can sue or be sued. The express holding of that case is limited to the Municipality of Tinian, and the constitutional amendment on which it is based applies only to Rota and Tinian,” he said.

CMS is suing the Office of the Mayor and Camacho to collect on $36,126.25 that it said represents unpaid material that it provided the mayor’s office.

CMS, a quarry operator at the Kannat Tabla quarry, is asking the Superior Court to compel Camacho and the municipality of Saipan to pay $36,126.25, along with the legal costs associated with the lawsuit.

CMS explained in their lawsuit that the amount had reached this sum after Camacho and the Saipan Mayor’s Office not only received base course material that exceeded the 100 cubic yards approved by the Department of Public Lands under the public benefit requirement of its permit, but the mayor’s office also ordered 7.5 cubic yards of aggregates—parts of which constituted processed material. These aggregates, CMS said, are not included in the public benefit agreement, and all agencies must pay for this material.

The CMS lawsuit was filed on Oct. 18, 2023, by CMS and their lawyer, Robert Torres.

The lawsuit alleges that, from Feb. 1, 2023, through Sept. 11, 2023, CMS provided the Saipan municipality with a monthly statement of its invoice for the quarry materials supplied to the Saipan municipality. “Despite monthly notices of its invoices, the Saipan municipality failed to pay and continues to fail or refuses to pay CMS…,” the lawsuit states.

CMS accuses the Saipan Mayor’s Office of breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

“Mayor RB and the Saipan municipality have breached the contract by failing and refusing to pay the amount of $36,126.25, which is equivalent to the value of the quarry materials and for services performed by delivery of these materials to the Saipan municipality’s project sites. CMS has been damaged by Mayor RB and the Saipan municipality’s breach to the extent of at least $36,126.25 as of Sept.11, 2023. CMS has been required to hire an attorney to bring this action for damages and is entitled to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in doing so,” the lawsuit adds.

It said that Camacho and the Saipan Mayor’s Office knew or were aware that CMS was delivering and supplying it with quarry materials that exceeded 100 cubic yards of raw or coral materials.