Idaho court junks ex-public auditor’s suit vs the NMI

The U.S. District Court of Idaho has junked a lawsuit that sought damages of over $750,000 from the CNMI government, three CNMI magistrates, former lawyers at the Attorney General’s Office, and the Department of the Interior.

Judge Edward L. Lodge said his court lacks personal jurisdiction over the defendants in the suit filed by former CNMI public auditor Robert D. Bradshaw. The judge dismissed the case without prejudice to its refiling before another court that has jurisdiction over it.

The defendants in the suit included the CNMI government; former acting Attorney General Nicole C. Forelli; former assistant attorneys general William C. Bush, L. David Sosebee, and Andrew Clayton; the Interior Department; CNMI Supreme Court justices John Manglona and Alexandro Castro; former Superior Court judge Timothy Bellas; Robert A. Bison; and lawyer Jay H. Sorenson.

Bradshaw sued the government attorneys and the magistrates in their personal capacities. He sued Castro as Superior Court judge pro tempore in a court proceeding he was involved in, and Bellas as Supreme Court justice pro tempore in the appeal that followed.

Lodge said Bradshaw failed to meet his burden of proving that the Idaho court has jurisdiction over the defendants, none of whom reside or engage in any activity in that state.

“In examining the record in this matter, the exercise of personal jurisdiction over the named defendants would not be constitutional, reasonable or fair,” Lodge said.

In a 10-page order issued recently, the judge said Bradshaw failed to show that the defendants could be properly served with summons under state and federal law. The CNMI defendants had asked the Idaho court for the case’s dismissal.

“Having found no personal jurisdiction over any of the defendants, the court finds it would also be unfair and improper to allow service by publication where this court has no personal jurisdiction over defendants living outside the United States,” Lodge said.

Now residing in Idaho, Bradshaw served as temporary public auditor for the CNMI from 1993 to 1994. In the 76-page Idaho suit, Bradshaw claimed to have suffered from injustice in proceedings at the CNMI courts, which led to a $139,000-default judgment against him in favor of Bisom.

Bisom used to be an employee under Bradshaw’s supervision as temporary public auditor. Bradshaw fired Bisom for cause, prompting the latter to file a lawsuit in federal court. Bisom lost the case even at the U.S. Court of Appeals. In 1996, though, Bisom filed a separate lawsuit against Bradshaw at the CNMI Superior Court. Sorenson represented Bisom as attorney.

Bradshaw said he advised the AGO not to accept service of summons and complaint on his behalf, but that he would contact the AGO to represent him to respond the suit if service is made on him. He claimed that no service of summons properly took place regarding the Superior Court complaint.

Despite this, the AGO accepted service on Bradshaw’s behalf, but the agency made no answer to Bisom’s complaint, he said. Bradshaw alleged that Castro improperly permitted the CNMI Superior Court trial to proceed despite knowing that the former public auditor has no direct involvement in the proceedings.

Castro eventually refused to allow payment of the default judgment on the basis of the Indemnification Act, which would have held the CNMI government liable for the judgment, since the suit stemmed from Bradshaw’s actions as public auditor. The CNMI Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court’s decision.

Bradshaw claimed that the CNMI courts’ decision violated his employment contract with the CNMI government when he served as temporary public auditor, saying that the contractual relationship entitled him to indemnification for any arising monetary losses in his employment.

Bradshaw claimed being discriminated as “a U.S. statesider who could be easily made to accept the blame for the actions and omissions of the CNMI AG and the courts.” He added: “As a minimum, DOI has acted to help conceal the open discrimination against outsiders who are present legally in the CNMI.”