US Trustee opposes hiring of Huesman as Fund special counsel

The U.S. Trustee for the District of the CNMI is opposing the NMI Retirement Fund’s request to retain Braddock J. Huesman’s law firm as the Fund’s special counsel in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition.

Assistant U.S. Trustee Curtis Ching said that based on the types of services to be provided, Huesman should be retained as general bankruptcy counsel rather than special bankruptcy counsel.

Ching said that Huesman’s services will clearly include matters directly related to the Fund’s Chapter 11 case.

Ching noted that Huesman has been interviewed and quoted several times in the media about this Chapter 11 case.

A general bankruptcy counsel handles the entire bankruptcy proceeding for the debtor (the Fund in this case), while a special counsel handles specific matters.

Ching said that Huesman’s role in the bankruptcy reorganization effort is substantial. While the Boston-based law firm of Brown Rudnick is taking on a primary role, Huesman is the only attorney physically located in Saipan, and as such, he will have to play a large role in the Chapter 11 case, Ching said.

Huesman, according to Ching, should not be considered “special counsel,” as this is limited to specific non-bankruptcy matters.

Huesman should be employed as general bankruptcy counsel and his application to be employed as special counsel should be denied, Ching added.

Ching said that at the time the Chapter 11 case was filed, Huesman was representing the Fund or its board of trustees in certain lawsuits pending in CNMI and federal courts.

Huesman also currently represents certain individual Fund board of trustee members and beneficiaries “in matters wholly unrelated to this Chapter 11 case,” Ching said.

The lawyer also previously represented certain creditors and parties-in-interest “in matters wholly unrelated to this Chapter 11 case.”

Ching also noted that Huesman’s spouse is currently the general counsel of the Commonwealth Utilities Corp., a contributing employer to the Fund and is involved in litigation involving the Fund.

In the Fund’s response to the motions to dismiss the Chapter 11 petition, Huesman asserted, among other things, that the Fund is not a governmental unit and therefore the federal court should deny the motions.