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Lawsuit for non-payment of PUA benefits dismissed
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Posted on Dec 27 2021
The U.S. District Court for the NMI has dismissed with finality the lawsuit filed by a man against Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente and the CNMI Department of Labor over the non-payment of his Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona dismissed with prejudice the complaint of Zaji Obatala Zajradhara against DOL and Benavente and directed the court clerk to close the case.
The case was first dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, but Manglona allowed Zajradhara to file an amended complaint by Sept. 13, 2021, if he still wishes to pursue his claim, and warned him that failure to file any amended complaint by the deadline would result in the court dismissing and closing the case. Zajradhara timely sought an extension of time by an additional 45 days to file his amended complaint, which the court granted. Manglona then instructed Zajradhara to file his first amended complaint no later than Oct. 28, 2021. Over a month since the deadline, the court had not received any first amended complaint or any other filings from Zajradhara.
“It may be that plaintiff…has found an alternative forum for his remedy,” Manglona said.
According to court documents, back in February 2020, Zajradhara asked the court to issue an order instructing DOL to pay him $7,380. He claims he had already been adjudicated as a beneficiary but DOL purposely did not pay him his PUA benefits even after repeated phone calls/emails.
