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HKE president appeals to Ninth Circuit
Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investments Ltd. president Kwan Man is appealing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the federal court’s ruling that ordered him and HKE to pay $191,400 in civil penalty to the U.S. Labor Secretary for their willful and repeat violations of the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act during the operation of the now defunct Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino.
Man, through counsel Bruce Berline, notified the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Saturday of his appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
Man wants the 9th Circuit to reverse U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona’s ruling issued last May 23.
No other details were provided in the notice of appeal.
Manglona granted the U.S. Labor Secretary’s and co-defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to all three claims filed by the Tinian Dynasty owner, HKE, and HKE president Man.
The judge ruling also affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board’s final decision issued on Nov. 25, 2014 that assessed such civil money penalty against HKE and Man.
Manglona concluded that, as a matter of law, the compliance agreement entered by HKE and the Labor Secretary did not preclude the imposition of civil money penalties for HKE’s violations of the overtime provisions of the FLSA.
On Aug. 31, 2007, Terrence Trotter, then-assistant district director for the Hawaii District Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (administrator) assessed the civil money penalties against HKE and Raymond Chan, then-financial controller for Tinian Dynasty and signatory to the compliance agreement, for willful and repeated violations of the FLSA during the period from March 16, 2007 to May 26, 2007.
On Feb. 4, 2011, the administrator assessed the civil money penalties for the same FLSA violations against Man.
In December 2014, HKE and Man filed the lawsuit against then-U.S. Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez and several other Labor officials for allegedly violating their due process right over their assessment of civil penalty of $191,400.
