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IPI wants to reduce amount owed in discrimination suit
Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC has asked the court to limit the amount of legal fees and costs a former IPI employee is entitled to as a reward in his racial discrimination case against IPI.
In court documents filed at the U.S. District Court for the NMI on Tuesday, IPI lawyer Stephen J. Nutting asked the court to not include the legal fees and costs incurred prior to Joshua Gray’s legal team requesting IPI to provide relevant documents.
“While [Gray] may be entitled to an award of attorney’s fees and cost directly related to bringing on its motion for discovery sanctions, it is not entitled to costs and other attorney’s fees incurred prior to bringing the motion.” Nutting cited legal precedent that, while legal preparation to file a motion to request documents from a party is related to the events leading up to the motion being filed, legal fees and costs incurred while preparing are not part of the fees and costs incurred in actually filing the motion.
In April, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered an entry of default against IPI after the company failed to comply with a discovery sanction related to the case. As a result of not being able to provide relevant documents by the March 18 deadline, IPI was ordered to concede the case and compensate Gray.
