The settlement negotiation between the Commonwealth Utilities Corp. and the NMI Retirement Fund has fallen through, signaling a continuation in the court battle between the two agencies.<\/p>\n
Fund board of trustees chair Sixto K. Igisomar disclosed this Friday, confirming that the exchanges between CUC and the Fund did not result in an amicable agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe negotiation pretty much failed because CUC is asking us to do something that is outside of our parameters, which is to follow the numbers they are using based on some legislation,\u201d said Igisomar.<\/p>\n
The Fund is suing the utilities corporation to collect on some $4.44 million in unpaid employer contributions ($3.1 million as of April 2011), penalties ($740,462), and damages ($527,716). <\/p>\n
In the standing lawsuit, the Fund also wants the court to declare that CUC\u2019s attempt to pass on its obligation to the central government is fraudulent on creditors and is void.<\/p>\n
CUC\u2019s settlement proposal, according to Igisomar, uses a different equation to calculate its outstanding contributions to the Fund. He said that based on CUC\u2019s offer, it wants to pay an amount that is about 50 percent less than what the Fund says it owes. The Fund responded to CUC\u2019s proposal with a counter-offer, which CUC also later rejected. <\/p>\n
Igisomar insists that the Fund is using the proper method of calculating CUC\u2019s unpaid employer contributions. <\/p>\n
\u201cPublic Law 6-17 is what we\u2019re following because laws that came after that never changed P.L. 6-17. Obviously, CUC is challenging it so the court needs to make the decision,\u201d he said, adding that one big thing that caused the negotiations to fail was the different interpretation of the laws.<\/p>\n
According to the Fund, under the law, CUC is required to pay employer contributions to the Fund based on the gross salaries or wages of its employees and the Fund’s actuarially determined contribution amount. These employer contributions must be remitted to the Fund within five working days following the end of each payroll date. <\/p>\n
Saipan Tribune learned that CUC, in its proposal, cited some differences in legal opinion on how the Fund determined the total debt of CUC. The utilities firm cited some statutes to point out the \u201cwrong calculation\u201d made by the Fund in coming up with the $3.1 million unpaid contributions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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