‘Vexatious litigant’s’ bid to have case dismissed is junked

The Superior Court denied yesterday John Sablan Pangelinan’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed against him by a widow and her daughter, who accused him of abusing the legal system to extort money from them.

Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho ruled that Segundina Untalan Pangelinan and Selina Marie Pangelinan have standing to sue and have alleged enough facts to establish their claims against John Pangelinan.

U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge Frances M. Tydingco-Gatewood earlier described John Pangelinan as a vexatious litigant.

In a footnote of his order yesterday, Camacho noted that John Pangelinan’s repeated filing of motions with little substance with accompanying voluminous attachments is the same filing pattern that he used in a separate lawsuit.

He cited that John Pangelinan filed several motions last May 8.

The widow and her daughter are suing John Pangelinan for allegedly abusing the legal system to extort money from them by interfering in a probate matter despite not being a creditor.

Segundina Pangelinan and her daughter, Selina Marie Pangelinan, are suing John Pangelinan for abuse of process and interference with contract.

Segundina and Selina Pangelinan, through counsel Janet H. King, asked the court to hold John Pangelinan liable to pay them damages, interest, and court costs.

According to the complaint, Segundina Pangelinan’s husband, Norberto, passed away in August 2015. Norberto owned three parcels of land in Tanapag, but before he died, he entered into an agreement to lease the property to Peak Development LLC for 55 years for a total rent of $3.2 million.

Norberto also entered into an agreement to sell his reversionary interest in the Tanapag property to Pedro Kileleman. But before the transactions could close, Norberto passed away, King said.

Segundina Pangelinan then initiated a probate proceeding for the estate of Norberto so that the lease and sale transactions could be properly completed.

During the probate proceeding, King said, John Pangelinan filed a pro se (or without a lawyer) action that challenged Norberto’s title to the Tanapag property, without evidence or legal support. The Superior Court rejected those challenges.

John Pangelinan then filed multiple motions to reconsider. The court also rejected those motions.

John Pangelinan then appealed to the CNMI Supreme Court.

By filing his challenges, motions to reconsider, and appeal, John Pangelinan perverted the legal process, King said.

John Pangelinan then filed the motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him. He asserted that the court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter and that plaintiffs fail to state a claim in their lawsuit.

Camacho heard the motion last May 23. King argued for the plaintiffs. John Pangelinan represented himself.

In his order yesterday, Camacho said that Segundina and Selina Pangelinan suffered an injury due to John Pangelinan’s interference in a “land transaction between plaintiffs and a third party,” and the plaintiffs suffered damages due to John Pangelinan’s actions in the probate case.

Camacho said a favorable outcome in Segundina and Selina Pangelinan’s lawsuit would allow them to finalize any agreements on the Tanapag property and would remedy additional costs incurred by them to any abuse of process or interference with contract.

In sum, Camacho said, the plaintiffs pleaded every element of interference with contract.

In June 2008, Tydingco-Gatewood called John Pangelinan a vexatious litigant and prohibited him from filing any lawsuit or documents in federal court that is related to a 1997 civil lawsuit filed against him.

Tydingco-Gatewood also sanctioned John Pangelinan by ordering him to pay attorneys’ fees and court costs to attorney Robert T. Torres for including the lawyer’s clients in a $61.1-million lawsuit, which the court found frivolous.

In June 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit disclosed that John Pangelinan initiated 18 litigations since 2000. The Ninth Circuit said his practice of burdening the court with meritless litigation justifies careful oversight of his future litigations. (Ferdie De La Torre)