AGO threatens MPLA anew with suit

The Attorney General’s Office threatened yesterday to file yet another lawsuit against the Marianas Public Lands Authority, after the agency denied the AGO’s request for both offices to pose a certified question to the Supreme Court regarding land compensation matters.

The members of the MPLA board of directors voted unanimously to reject the AGO’s proposal, saying that a certified question was not necessary.

For its part, the AGO said it might have to resort to litigation, with MPLA refusing to work cooperatively with the government lawyers to resolve questions about the land compensation process.

MPLA vice chair Manuel Villagomez said the board members believed that there was no legitimate reason why they should participate in posing a certified question before the Supreme Court.

“Public Law 14-29 gave MPLA the full authority to settle land compensation claims. A certified question is a waste of time. Besides, it’s too late for that because the money’s almost gone,” Villagomez said.

He was alluding to the $40-million debt that MPLA was authorized to incur in 2002 to finance the settlement of private land acquisitions.

Approximately $13 million reportedly remains of the land compensation fund, as of early May 2005.

In a separate interview, assistant attorney general James Livingstone said MPLA’s decision was disappointing.

“We were hoping to present to the Supreme Court a certified question with MPLA to make sure that the remaining millions of dollars that are to be distributed are distributed in a fair and equitable manner. MPLA has indicated that it doesn’t have any interest in doing that, so now our office is evaluating its options. We have to make a decision quickly because we don’t want to delay this process at all,” Livingstone said.

He said that, while litigation was never the AGO’s first option, “it’s something to be considered now.”

The AGO has requested MPLA to participate in a certified question to resolve issues arising from the recent implementation of P.L. 14-29, a new land compensation law that changed the method for valuation of private lands taken by the government.

Enacted in September 2004, P.L. 10-29 re-defines the “time of taking” based on the date when the governor certifies in writing the need for the acquisition of private land, rather than the date the government first entered, occupied, and used the private land for a public purpose.

Because many certifications were made at a time when high market values were prevailing, the re-appraisal of land claims resulted in significant increases in land compensation payments. The Kaipat Estate’s land compensation, for instance, climbed from only $102,000 to $4.41 million because of the new valuation method.
Currently, the AGO has a pending lawsuit against MPLA over the controversial $3.45-million land compensation for the Malite estate.