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Garment firm asks court to junk CRMO citation
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Posted on Dec 16 2004
A garment firm that was slapped with a hefty fine by the Coastal Resources Management Office filed a lawsuit yesterday, asking the Superior Court to set aside the agency’s decision.
Alternatively, the suit asked the court to remand the matter to the CRM Appeals board.
Hyunjin Saipan, Inc. wants the court to review the agency’s decision to impose a $10,000 fine against the company.
The CRMO imposed the fine over the company’s renovation of a warehouse into a 10-unit barracks without first securing the necessary permit earlier this year.
CRMO documents showed that the agency ha earlier warned the company to stop the construction and file the necessary permit application. The CRMO said Hyunjin ignored its warning.
Hyunjin’s attorney, G. Anthony Long, said the CRMO erred in allowing the company to be represented by a non-lawyer in an administrative hearing.
In that hearing, the CRMO rejected the company’s defense that it had to expedite renovation work after the company hired some 150 of the garment workers involved in the settled class action.
“CRM did not, at any time, inform or advise Hyunjin that a person not licensed to practice law could not represent Hyunjin in an administrative proceeding before the CRM,” Long said.
Long also said the CRMO failed to properly advise Hyunjin of its appeal rights. The CRMO issued last Oct. 12 an order imposing additional fine of $2,500 for each day that Hyunjin fails to settle the $10,000 penalty, causing the amount of the fine to balloon.
The company filed an appeal before the CRM Appeals Board on Oct. 27. On Nov. 16, however, the agency summarily denied Hyunjin’s appeal, Long said.
