Ex-foreign workers of Dynasty asked to explain why case shouldn’t be dismissed

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona has ordered the former foreign workers of the defunct Tinian Dynasty Hotel & Casino to explain why their lawsuit should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute.

In an order to show cause issued last Friday, Manglona gave Eric F. Dona and co-plaintiffs no later than this Friday, Jan. 11, to explain in writing.

Samuel Mok is counsel for Dona and six other co-plaintiffs. There are 15 named plaintiffs in this case.

Manglona said that last Aug. 14, court’s clerk entered a default of Tinian Dynasty’s owners and management Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investment Ltd. and Mega Overseas Ltd.

The judge said more than four months have passed and plaintiffs have not applied to the court for a default judgment, or taken any action in this case.

Last August, U.S. District Court for the NMI designated Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood adopted Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy’s recommendation to direct the clerk to enter a default judgment against HKE and Mega Stars.

Tydingco-Gatewood granted the workers’ motion to strike the answers of HKE and Mega Stars.

Kennedy in her recommendation stated that it is well-established that “a corporation may appear in the federal courts only through licensed counsel.”

In this case, Kennedy said, the court informed defendants on multiple occasions after the withdrawal of their lawyers both in 2016 and 2018, that they may face sanctions, including stricken answers and a default judgment, if they failed to obtain counsel.

“Yet no counsel has appeared to represent defendants since Jan. 16, 2018 when defendants’ second counsel was permitted to withdraw from the case,” Kennedy said.

In their lawsuit, Dona and co-plaintiffs alleged that the owners and management of Tinian Dynasty lied to them about their immigration legal status.

Mok alleged that the owners and management of Tinian Dynasty lied that the workers were legally authorized to work notwithstanding the denial of their CW-1 petitions.

In February 2018, Mr. Chun Wai Chan, a corporate representative of both HKE and Mega Stars, disclosed that the total outstanding liabilities of the owner of Tinian Dynasty has now climbed to over $250 million, excluding the $75 million in civil penalty assessed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

Chan revealed that HKE’s outstanding liabilities is continuously increasing due to late payment penalties and interest.

Chan said Tinian Dynasty’s casino operation stopped in August 2015, and when the hotel operation halted in March 2016 no more income could be generated since then.