Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC has been ordered to pay nearly $94,000 in attorneys fees in the lawsuit filed by seven construction workers.<\/p>\n
District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered IPI to pay $93,834.25 in attorneys\u2019 fees for the seven defendants\u2014Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan.<\/p>\n
One of the plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys, Aaron Halegua, filed the motion for attorneys\u2019 fees as part of the sanctions against IPI for discovery order violations.<\/p>\n
Aside from Halegua, attorney Bruce Berline, Times Wang, and paralegal Jacob Kessler also represent the plaintiffs. <\/p>\n
Manglona said IPI\u2019s repeated failures to abide by this court\u2019s discovery orders have resulted in the sanction. <\/p>\n
Manglona added that IPI has changed counsel multiple times over the course of the case, considerably complicating the discovery process.<\/p>\n
To date, she said, the current counsel of IPI is still reconstructing discovery sought by the plaintiffs in Sept. 2019.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs worked for the previous IPI contractor and subcontractor, MCC International Saipan Ltd. Co. and Gold Mantis Construction Decoration (CNMI).<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs allege forced labor, negligence, and liability for employees of subcontractors.<\/p>\n
In their first amended complaint, the plaintiffs also alleged violations of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act and the CNMI Anti-Trafficking Act, as well as claims under CNMI law for the physical injuries the plaintiffs said they suffered at the IPI construction project.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs are seeking $3.86 million in compensatory damages and $7.72 million in punitive damages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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