IPI and CCC finalizing settlement

Casino operator Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC and its sister company, Best Sunshine International, have informed the court that they are currently in the final stages of completing a settlement agreement with the Commonwealth Casino Commission.

According to a notice of agreement to terms that was filed with the U.S. District Court for the NMI by IPI, through lawyers Joey San Nicolas, Kevin Abikoff, and Samuel Salyer, they informed the court that they have reached an agreement with CCC executive director Andrew Yeom as to the terms of the agreement and are in the process of finalizing the document.

“The parties hereby provide notice to the court that plaintiffs and the executive director of the Commonwealth Casino Commission have reached an agreement in principle as to the terms of a settlement. The parties are in the process of finalizing these terms through a Settlement Agreement and will provide notice to the court upon the entry of this agreement,” the notice stated.

IPI previously filed a complaint against the CCC and took out a temporary restraining order against the commission to prohibit it from moving forward with a hearing to revoke IPI’s exclusive casino commission.

According to court documents, plaintiffs in this case filed their complaint and emergency motion for TRO last May 23.

The court issued a TRO on May 23, ordering CCC to cease and desist from proceeding with enforcement action 2021-001-005, including convening the enforcement hearing scheduled for May 24-25.

The parties appeared before the court for a status conference on May 25, where the defendants asked for more time to respond to IPI’s emergency motion.

Following the status conference, the court issued an order extending CCC’s deadline to file its opposition to IPI to May 31, with plaintiff’s reply due June 2.

Based on a stipulation by the parties filed on May 31, the court entered an order extending the TRO and granting the joint stipulated motion to stay briefing on IPI’s motion due to the parties’ significant progress toward a settlement.

According to the order, the court extended the TRO through July 8, and stayed the briefing on the plaintiffs’ complaint and emergency motion for TRO for a period of 30 days.

The parties are scheduled for a status conference on Friday, July 1.

A previous article on the Saipan Tribune stated that Best Sunshine/IPI were expecting an infusion of $150 million by the end of May that would allow it to pay off missed payments on its casino license agreement, meet its obligations to its creditors, resume operations, and restart construction.