Hofschneider suit dismissed

The U.S. District Court set aside yesterday three of the four claims made by former Marianas Public Lands Authority commissioner Henry Hofschneider in the lawsuit he had filed against MPLA chair Ana Demapan-Castro over his suspension and subsequent termination.

In an order, federal court chief judge Alex R. Munson dismissed with prejudice Hofschneider’s first and second claims that Demapan-Castro violated his right to due process when she suspended and terminated him.

To dismiss with prejudice means that another suit can never be filed on that claim.

Munson, however, dismissed Hofschneider’s third contention without prejudice, allowing the plaintiff to re-file the claim within 10 days.

The third claim alleges that Demapan-Castro suspended Hofschneider without pay and ultimately terminated him in retaliation for exercising his First Amendment free speech rights.

The order stemmed from a motion filed by Demapan-Castro to dismiss the three claims.

Not included in the motion was Hofschneider’s fourth claim, which alleges that he was suspended and terminated because of his political affiliation.

It is alleged that Demapan-Castro is a political supporter of Gov. Juan N. Babauta while Hofschneider is the brother of Rep. Heinz Hofschneider, a political rival of the governor.

“CNMI law is very clear that the commissioner serves at the pleasure of the MPLA board of directors. It does not say that plaintiff can only be discharged for cause or other reason. Thus, even if defendant violated all cited statutes in suspending and terminating plaintiff, it does not matter for purposes of determining whether plaintiff has a property interest in continued employment,” Munson said of the first and second claims.

The judge further stated that Demapan-Castro had the authority to suspend and terminate Hofschneider even though such action violated his contract’s terms.

Hofschneider’s contract was not supposed to expire until May 4, 2007. The contract also required the board to give the commissioner 60 days notice and make a lump sum payment of the salary and benefits he would lose during the remainder of his contract period or 12 months, whichever is longer.

“The clauses in the employment contract conflict with the Public Law 12-71’s clear statement that plaintiff served at the pleasure of the board. As such, the board could not authorize these terms,” Munson said.

The judge said Hofschneider’s third claim where he invoked his free speech rights must also be dismissed as his speech “deals with his personal dispute with Demapan-Castro.”

“It was not speech that enabled the population to ‘make informed decisions about the operation of their government,’” Munson said.

Demapan-Castro suspended the commissioner without pay effective July 30, 2004, pending the opinion of the Attorney General’s Office and the Department of Finance regarding Hofschneider’s alleged alteration of a document without the board’s approval.

The MPLA chair then issued Hofschneider a notice of termination sometime in October 2004.
Hofschneider is asking the federal court to award him punitive damages of $1 million.