OAG: Superior Court lacks jurisdiction on Fleming’s claim vs CNMI

The Office of the Attorney General has moved for the dismissal of the claim against the CNMI government in a lawsuit filed by a staff of the Saipan Mayor’s Office who filed a lawsuit over the injuries he suffered when a bucket truck’s arm suddenly broke while he was cutting branches of trees, making him fall several feet to a rooftop of a building.

Assistant attorney general David Lochabay, as counsel for the CNMI government, asserted that as Lawrence M. Fleming’s complaint has no allegations against the CNMI, it fails to state a claim and therefore must be dismissed.

Lochabay said the Superior Court lacks jurisdiction over the CNMI because no claim against the government was presented to the Attorney General at least 90 days prior to filing suit.

Fleming, through counsel Joseph E. Horey, is suing the Office of the Mayor of Saipan, CNMI government, and the administrator of the estate of former Saipan Mayor Donald G. Flores, for negligence and worker’s compensation.

Fleming asked the court to hold the defendants liable to pay him damages for pain, suffering, and emotional distress. He also demanded payment for court costs and attorney’s fees.

Horey stated in the complaint that in July 2012, Fleming’s work of duties as an employee of the Mayor’s Office included the cutting and trimming of trees along the roadside and elsewhere on Saipan.

Horey said that on July 19, 2012, Fleming was in the bucket truck, cutting branches of trees above the roof of a government house on Capital Hill.

The lawyer said the mechanical arm suddenly collapsed, and the bucket, with Fleming in it, fell directly downward more than 20 feet and crashed on the concrete roof of the house.

Fleming suffered a burst compression fracture of his lumbar vertebra that required surgery. He is likely to require further medical treatment in the future.

On April 16, 2014, Horey said plaintiff presented a claim for his damages to the Attorney General, but the AG made no disposition of the claim within 90 days after it was presented, and is therefore deemed to have denied the claim.

Horey said the Mayor’s Office breached its duties to Fleming by failing to adequately maintain the truck and failing to give plaintiff or other users adequate instructions in its proper use.

The lawyer said Mayor’s Office did not secure payment of statutory worker’s compensation benefits as required by the Commonwealth Worker’s Compensation law.

In the government’s motion to dismiss filed last week, Lochabay said as the claim, and therefore the complaint, only contains allegations against the Office of the Mayor and its employees, it is clearly insufficient to state a claim against the CNMI.

Citing previous court rulings, Lochabay said the requirement that a claim against the CNMI be first presented to the Attorney General is jurisdictional.

Lochabay said Fleming has sued three separate named defendants in this action.

Lochabay said in its complaint, Fleming then arbitrarily refers to all defendants “collectively, as defendant.”

“This practice results in each individual defendant not being properly apprised of exactly what each individual defendant has done to harm plaintiff,” he said.

This, Lochabay added, is an obvious violation of Fleming’s duty to put each defendant on notice of its alleged culpability in the circumstances leading to his alleged injuries.