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IN LAWSUIT FILED BY IPI AGAINST CCC
Modified TRO extended
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Posted on Jul 10 2019
The modified temporary restraining order in place against the Commonwealth Casino Commission has been extended because Superior Court Associate Judge Kenneth Govendo believes that the lawsuit will not be resolved before the expiration.
During the preliminary injunction hearing yesterday, Govendo ordered for the extension of the TRO that expires today to give him enough time to form an opinion based on arguments and the evidence presented by both Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC and the Commonwealth Casino Commission.
Govendo extended the modified TRO for another 10 days.
According to IPI lawyer Viola Alepuyo, she thinks it’s very fair for both parties and the court to extend the TRO.
“I think it would be unfair to say ‘no your honor, you have to make a decision today’ I mean he’s got a lot of documents to look at, a lot of testimonies to review, he also has to look into the law and the constitution. That’s not something you can do overnight. I think 10 days to review this issue is not even a long time, that’s actually a very short time,” she said.
Alepuyo added that most of the information has already been made public since the TRO was modified over a week ago so it’s only fair that the court is given time to rule on the remaining information.
“Most of the information is already available it’s just the information that we’re saying is confidential is not available, I think it’s fair the judge be given 10 days to make his decision,” she said.
The preliminary injunction hearing has also been continued from yesterday as no resolution has been reached.
According to a previous article on Saipan Tribune, the TRO was quashed during a hearing last week but not dissolved in order to preserve certain financial information while also allowing the release of information required by law.
IPI still insists that some, if not all, of the information in the IPI financial statements are confidential.
This includes gross gaming revenue, business gross revenue tax payments, among other things.
CCC has already made accessible to the public the monthly reports that IPI submitted to the commission from 2015 through 2018, while certain information on IPI financial statements are still to be litigated.
