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Hearing for lawsuit to suspend CW rule set next week
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Posted on Oct 27 2011
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona yesterday set for Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 1:30pm, the hearing of a lawsuit that seeks to stop federal officials from implementing the CNMI-only Transitional Worker final rule.
In a two-page order, Manglona noted that certificates of service of the petition (lawsuit) on respondents have not been filed with the court.
“Petitioners must demonstrate compliance with the service requirements of Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, including service of this order on the Respondents,” Manglona said.
The plaintiffs or petitioners are Bonifacio V. Sagana, Manuel T. Vilaga, Gerardo G. De Guzman, Hector T. Sevilla, Carlito J. Marquez, Eduardo M. Elenzano, and Jong Ho Lee. They filed the lawsuit pro se or without a lawyer. They asked the court to certify their lawsuit as a class action.
They want the court to suspend the implementation of the CW final rule by Nov. 28, 2011, which they described as “unlawful.”
Named as defendants or respondents in the suit are Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services District Director David Gulick, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis, and U.S. Department of Labor District Director Terrence Trotter.
The plaintiffs want the court to declare the implementation of the CW Final Rule as unlawful and that it exceeds the defendants’ constitutional and statutory authority.
Vilaga is a U.S. citizen, while Lee is a U.S. permanent resident. The other plaintiffs or petitioners are long-term nonresident workers who mostly have U.S. citizen children.
