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Court hold Pelisamen responsible for disbursement of $54K to surveyors
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Posted on May 19 2006
Superior Court Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama is holding ousted Rita Kaipat estate administrator Luis K. Pelisamen responsible for the entire $54,901 released to surveyors.
Lizama said it was brought to his attention that neither Pelisamen nor his former lawyer Joseph Arriola had filed a revised accounting of fees allegedly owed to surveyors Alfred K. Pangelinan of Meridian Surveying and Juan I. Castro of Pacific Lands Surveying.
The judge noted that the revised accounting of fees was due May 2, 2006 as the court had ordered.
Lizama found that Arriola had in fact not returned the surveyors’ fees.
In March 2006, Lizama voided his earlier order that authorized the Rita Kaipat estate to pay $54,901 to the surveyors.
Saying he inadvertently signed the order, Lizama ordered then Rita Kaipat estate administrator Pelisamen, and his counsel, Arriola, to retrieve the money from the surveyors no later than April 4, 2006.
Lizama ruled that the order that he signed on Feb. 7, 2006 was procured improperly.
The judge reminded Arriola that it is his responsibility to make sure that the estate’s funds are disbursed properly pursuant to a court order after notice and a hearing.
He said the surveyors, through counsel Antonio M. Atalig, prepared an order for distribution. Pelisamen, through Arriola, filed a notice to the parties indicating that the estate would pay the claim.
Lizama said he inadvertently signed the order.
However, he said, Arriola failed to file notice for hearing to approve the surveyors’ claim.
Lizama said Atalig also failed to notify the parties regarding the order.
“Thus, there was no hearing on the matter. It does not appear to the court that there was agreement among all the parties to make the disbursement,” he stressed in that order.
The Rita Kaipat estate was awarded by the Marianas Public Lands Authority with $4.7 million in land compensation settlement. The amount, however, was equally split for $1.3 million among three estates.
