Parties in sexual harassment lawsuit rest case

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the owners of Saipan Grand Hotel rested their cases yesterday in the ongoing jury trial of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by EEOC on behalf of a band singer who alleged that the hotel’s then restaurant manager made sexual advances on her.

Saipan Grand Hotel’s owners, Asia Pacific Hotels Inc. and Tan Holdings Inc., rested their case after calling their witnesses-Grand Hotel personnel manager Joseph Ada, Detective Simon Manacop, and Grand Hotel employee Melinda Javier.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona excused the eight jurors at 2:40pm yesterday and ordered them to come back today, Friday, for the 8:30am closing arguments.

After closing arguments, the judge normally gives jury instructions before directing the jurors to start their deliberations.

During examination by defendants Asia Pacific and Tan Holdings’ counsel Steven Pixley, Ada explained that the reason why management decided to transfer the band singer and a roommate to another room was for their own protection from Tomas Alegre, the accused restaurant manager.

Ada said the room where the band singer and the roommate previously occupied doesn’t have a surveillance camera.

Shown a letter provided to the band singer dated Jan. 15, 2008, Ada said the letter stated that management is not tolerating Alegre’s action and that the hotel will pursue the investigation until the end result.

Ada said a day after Alegre was arrested, Alegre showed up at the hotel still wearing his company uniform.

He said general manager Ed Cho asked Alegre what happened, then told Alegre he was placing him under suspension effective that day.

Ada said Alegre left the hotel but later came back so he called a security guard to escort him from the premises.

Ada said that on Jan. 12, 2008 he called Alegre and informed him that they were going to terminate him.

He said Alegre asked if he could just resign.

Ada said the general manager agreed since Alegre was leaving the company anyway.

The personnel manager stressed that on Jan. 2, 2008, when the alleged sexual advances happened, he conducted his investigation.

Ada said he and Victoria Won, the front office manager, was with him during the interview with the singer so he would have a female counterpart.

Ada said he also interviewed Alegre and several other persons.

He said to his knowledge Alegre left Saipan for the Philippines on Feb. 1 or 2, 2008.

Ada said he also investigated other cases of sexual harassment that happened at the hotel between 2006 and 2007 and that the legal department reviewed his findings.

Ada said EEOC never complained to him about the hotel’s compliance with the consent decree pertaining to anti-sexual harassment policies.

After Ada’s testimony, the court heard defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law on the EEOC’s claim for punitive damages and motion to dismiss Tan Holdings from the lawsuit.

Pixley argued that there is no evidence that Asia Pacific intended to injure the singer or acted recklessly in the face of a perceived risk of violating anti discrimination laws.

Pixley also cited that there is no evidence that Asia Pacific acted with malice as the company took immediate action to address the singer’s claim of harassment by Alegre.

The lawyer said the singer and her roommate were moved to a different room, Alegre was immediately suspended, and then the incident was promptly investigated before finally forcing Alegre to resign or face termination.

EEOC trial attorney Derek Li asserted that the defendants were not taking its responsibility for employees seriously.

Li said Alegre himself stated that the management was not taking seriously the policy of not allowing anyone to get inside the employee’s room.

Manglona said based on her review of the evidence she denied the motions.

Pixley then called to the witness stand, Manacop, who was among the police officers who investigated the case. Manacop reportedly eventually became the singer’s boyfriend.

Manacop said his first meeting with the singer was on Jan. 4, 2008 at the Department of Public Safety.

The parties’ lawyers only raised a few questions to Manacop.

After Manacop, Pixley called Javier, who used to work at Grand Hotel as food and beverage supervisor and was recently hired back by the hotel.

Javier said she believes then that the singer and Alegre had a romantic relationship as she saw them once hugging in the hotel.

Javier recalled that while in their office, the phone rang and Alegre became excited and told the caller he was coming out.

Javier said Alegre was running so she was curious and followed him outside. She said she then saw Alegre and the singer hugging each other.

Javier said she also noticed at Club V that Alegre and the singer usually had “eye-to-eye contact.”

Asked by EEOC counsel Nancy Griffiths whether she reported the matter (hugging) to any managers of the hotel, Javier replied “no.”

Javier said Alegre and the singer were already off at the time as it was already past 2am.

“That’s their life,” she added.

Javier said no one interviewed her about the incident involving Alegre and the singer.