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Manglona recuses self from suit vs Palms Resort owner
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Posted on Nov 22 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has recused herself from a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former employee against Palms Resort Saipan.
In a one-page order issued Friday, Manglona did not specify the reason for her recusal besides saying that she must do so based on defendant Micronesian Resort Inc.’s Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 7.1 (Disclosure Statement) and pursuant to the federal law on the disqualification of a judge.
The U.S. Code states that “a judge shall disqualify if he knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any other party interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.”
Manglona directed the U.S. District Court for the NMI’s clerk to refer the case immediately to Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit for reassignment to another judge.
Jane Quitugua filed the lawsuit against Micronesian Resort, Inc., owner of Palms Resort Saipan, in May 2010. Through counsel Stephen C. Woodruff, Quitugua accused Palms Resort of “terminating her employment in an unlawful, discriminatory manner on a pretext of implementing organizational and staffing changes.”
According to Woodruff, Quitugua was removed without advance notice, warning, or explanation.
Quitugua began working for the hotel as a front office supervisor in 1998 and was later promoted to senior assistant front office manager in 2007. She held on to that position until her termination on Jan. 6, 2009.
Palms Resort had asserted that Quitugua’s termination was simply necessitated by business restructuring and that the company was “heading in a new direction with staff and management of the hotel.” and “to allow for some changes in the front office department.”
