{"id":403642,"date":"2023-12-06T01:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T01:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=403642"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"IPI-receives-CCC-s-30-day-notice-to-pay-62M-in-casino-license-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/IPI-receives-CCC-s-30-day-notice-to-pay-62M-in-casino-license-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"IPI receives CCC\u2019s 30-day notice to pay $62M in casino license fees"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Commonwealth Casino Commission board handed over on Thursday to Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC a notice to pay the government within 30 days the total amount due of $62 million in casino license fees.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the CCC board\u2019s monthly meeting on Thursday,<\/p>\n

the board gave a copy of the notice of payment deadline issued<\/p>\n

by vice chairman Rafael S. Demapan that day to IPI director<\/p>\n

Howyo Chi. CCC board chairman Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero<\/p>\n

recused from the case.<\/p>\n

Chi said yesterday that they are still working on a response to<\/p>\n

the notice.<\/p>\n

The board determined that the reasonable deadline for IPI to<\/p>\n

pay the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 in annual casino license<\/p>\n

fees is 30 days from receipt of the notice.<\/p>\n

The casino license fee for each year is $15,502,570, or for a<\/p>\n

total of $62,010,280 for the four-year period.<\/p>\n

During the board\u2019s regular monthly meeting last Oct. 26, the<\/p>\n

board determined that a \u201creasonable deadline\u201d for IPI to pay<\/p>\n

the casino license fees is 30 calendar days from receipt of<\/p>\n

notice.<\/p>\n

Demapan stated in the notice issued on Thursday, a copy of<\/p>\n

which was obtained by Saipan Tribune yesterday, that in<\/p>\n

determining the reasonable time, the Commission considered<\/p>\n

the CNMI Supreme Court\u2019s ruling in CCC\u2019s lawsuit against IPI.<\/p>\n

Demapan noted that the high court ruled that the force<\/p>\n

majeure provision in the Casino License Agreement excuses<\/p>\n

any default in IPI\u2019s payment during a force majeure event, but<\/p>\n

not IPI\u2019s obligation to pay.<\/p>\n

Force majeure refers to an unforeseeable circumstance that<\/p>\n

hinders a party from fulfilling its part in a contract. IPI claimed<\/p>\n

that force majeure event in its case is the COVID-19<\/p>\n

pandemic that caused the company to close down its casino.<\/p>\n

At oral argument at the CNMI Supreme Court in January 2023,<\/p>\n

IPI agreed that the COVID-19 force majeure event had ended.<\/p>\n

Demapan said the high court determined that any lingering<\/p>\n

effects of COVID-19 on IPI\u2019s economic viability or ability to pay<\/p>\n

does not constitute a force majeure event and is not excused<\/p>\n

under the force majeure provision.<\/p>\n

He said the Casino License Agreement references a<\/p>\n

\u201creasonable period of time\u201d in the context of license<\/p>\n

suspension or revocation, stating that the Commonwealth may<\/p>\n

not revoke or suspend the CLA unless it provides \u201can adequate<\/p>\n

and reasonable period to licensee [IP] to cure the issue<\/p>\n

identified.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demapan said many contracts provide a 30-day cure period for<\/p>\n

monetary default to provide sufficient time for the party to<\/p>\n

perform its obligation of making payment.<\/p>\n

Demapan said 30 days is sufficient time for IPI to perform its<\/p>\n

obligation of making the required payment.<\/p>\n

CCC board chairman Edward C. DeLeon Guerrero stated during<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s meeting that including the annual casino license<\/p>\n

fee and penalties for non-compliance with the CCC\u2019s mandates, IPI now owes CCC and the government over $70 million.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Commonwealth Casino Commission commissioner Mariano Taitano, middle, stresses a point as CCC board vice chairman Rafael S. Demapan, right, and commissioner Martin T. Mendiola listen during a break of the board\u2019s monthly meeting at the Springs Plaza Building in Gualo Rai last Thursday.<\/p>\n

-FERDIE DE LA TORRE
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Commonwealth Casino Commission board handed over on Thursday to Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-403642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403642\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}