Xerox suit demands over $182K from IPI

Xerox Corp. Saipan is suing Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC to demand that it pay over $182,000 that it allegedly owes for services and rental of equipment.

Xerox lawyer David Banes has asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI to issue an order awarding his client $182,905.88 in damages plus late charges and interest to the maximum extent allowed by law.

The lawsuit also demanded the return of devices and related equipment rented to IPI, and for reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

Banes said the total invoiced amount that IPI has not paid is $182,905.88, not counting interest or late charge.

He said all unpaid invoices except for one dated Dec. 1, 2020, were sent to IPI more than 45 days before the date of the complaint.

Banes said that, because of this, IPI is more than 15 days overdue. Banes noted that some of those unpaid invoices even date back to 2017.

According to Banes, IPI had not raised any objection to the unpaid invoices. He said Xerox has repeatedly asked IPI finance and accounting personnel regarding the overdue payments. Banes said IPI either did not respond at all, or reassured Xerox that they were working on paying Xerox. But it never did pay.

Xerox is suing IPI for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and quantum meruit. In contract law, quantum meruit means something along the lines of “reasonable value of services.”

According to the lawsuit, Xerox entered into a services master agreement or SMA with IPI on Feb. 26, 2016. Banes said Mark Badal, who was then, upon information and belief, the IT director of IPI, signed the SMA on behalf of IPI, and held himself out as the “IT director” of Best Sunshine Casino. Banes said Badal, at the time of signing the SMA, was an authorized representative of IPI with the authority and power to enter the SMA on behalf of IPI and bind IPI to the SMA. In the SMA, IPI agreed to pay Xerox for services provided to IPI and its affiliates, within 30 days after the date of the corresponding invoice. IPI further agreed to pay Xerox a late charge of the greater of $25 or 5% of the amount overdue but not to exceed the maximum amount permitted by law if Xerox did not receive a payment within 10 days of the due date.

In addition, the SMA provided that Xerox may recover an interest at the rate of 1.5% per month on amounts due, and immediately terminate its services if Xerox did not receive a payment within 15 days of the due date.

Banes said after the SMA was signed by the parties, up until now, Xerox has provided services and products under the SMA, including, without limitation, printing device rental, provision of related equipment, supplies, and customer services.

To date, Banes said IPI has not paid all the invoices of Xerox that were due.