Hillbroom ordered to explain why he shouldn’t be sanctioned

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has ordered Junior Larry Hillbroom to show cause why he should not be sanctioned for failing to appear telephonically at a status conference last Monday afternoon.

Manglona also ordered Hillbroom to explain why he should not be sanctioned for his failure to comply with the court’s orders from the Aug. 29, 2016 status conference, including providing an update on the status of his efforts to retain new counsel for this case.

The judge ordered Hillbroom to appear at the show cause hearing on Sept. 30, 2016 at 10:30am.

The trial of Hillbroom’s legal malpractice lawsuit against his former lawyers, David J. Lujan and Barry Israel, is currently set for a jury trial on Feb. 22, 2017.

During Monday’s status conference, defendants Lujan and Keith Waibel appeared pro se or without a lawyer. Attorneys Theodore Frank and Victorino Torres appeared on behalf of Israel. All parties appeared telephonically.

In her order to show cause issued Monday, Manglona said because time is of the essence, Hillbroom is ordered to appear on Sept. 29, either personally or telephonically, to show cause why he should not be sanctioned with a fine and/or an order directing that he proceed pro se or without a lawyer.

The judge said Hillbroom’s failure to appear at the hearing may result in the more serious sanction of a dismissal of the case.

The court held a status conference last Aug. 29 since granting the withdrawal of Hillbroom’s former counsel Girardi Keese and the law office of Mark Hanson on Aug. 15, 2016.

After the status conference, on Sept. 1, 2016, Hillbroom submitted via email three sets of communications directly to the courtroom deputy, not to the clerk of court’s office at the court’s general email address.

In doing so, Manglona said, Hillbroom failed to share these communications with any of the other parties on the case, and his emails were not received and acted upon timely by any of the clerks on regular duty to monitor the incoming emails.

Manglona said two of the three sets of emails show Hillbroom’s efforts to retain Toby McLaughlin from Sandpoint, Idaho as his new attorney.

However, Manglona said, this exchange of emails ended on Sept. 1, 2016.

As of yesterday, the judge said, no new counsel has made an appearance in this case on behalf of Hillbroom.

The third set of the emails pertains to two proposed court orders from the Palau Trial Court Division.

Manglona said both are unsigned by the Assistant Attorney General and the judge assigned to the case.

Manglona said they do not confirm Hillbroom’s ability to travel outside of Palau pending his two criminal cases.

The judge said all pending deadlines remain as ordered except for the depositions scheduled for September 2016.

Those depositions, she said, were cancelled on Aug. 29, 2016.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Palau Trial Division has allowed the temporary release of Hillbroom upon posting a cash bail of $275,000 and required him to provide a copy of any notice of deposition, hearing or other court-required appearance for his lawsuits in the CNMI and other jurisdictions.

Last April 20, Palau Trial Division Associate Justice Lourdes Materne granted Hillbroom’s temporary release upon posting $275,000 cash bail subject to conditions, including a sign of waiver of extradition and no travel outside Palau without court’s approval.

Last June 7, Materne also granted Hillbroom’s motion for modification of his conditions of release.

Materne required Hillbroom to submit to the court with his applications a copy of any notice of deposition, hearing or other court-required appearance for his lawsuits in the NMI, Hawaii, and California.

Hillbroom, one of the four DNA-proven children of the late business tycoon and DHL co-founder Larry Lee Hillblom, was recaptured in Palau hours after he allegedly escaped from police’s custody last Feb. 19, just a few days after he was arrested over the seizure of 160 grams of methamphetamine or “ice” worth $160,000.

Hillbroom, 31, was recaptured after he allegedly dove into the water and tried to swim when police tracked a vehicle at a dock in a town called Meyuns Hamlet in Palau, according to news reports.

Hillbroom pleaded not guilty.

Hillbroom’s mother, Kaelani Kinney, is a Palauan. Hillbroom is based in the U.S. mainland.

Hillbroom’s name is spelled differently from DHL co-founder Larry Hillblom.

Hillbroom is suing Lujan and Israel for allegedly conspiring with former trustee to inflate the attorney’s contingency fee when Hillblom’s fortune was still undergoing probate proceedings in Superior Court.

Hillblom, founder of DHL Express, died in a plane crash off Anatahan waters in 1995. His body was never recovered.

Approximately $100 million in assets were distributed to Hillbroom in the settlement of the probate case for the Hillblom estate.