CPA drops complaint vs Luta owner

The Commonwealth Ports Authority voluntarily dropped yesterday its intervening complaint in Japanese investor Takahisa Yamamoto’s lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Victor Hocog and owner/operators of cargo ship M/V Luta.

CPA counsel Robert T. Torres informed the U.S. District Court for the NMI that Luta Mermaid LLC, the owner of M/V Luta, and CPA have come to terms resolving the debt owed CPA.

CPA filed the intervening complaint to collect $20,463 in alleged unpaid services from the M/V Luta owner.

Torres asked the court yesterday to discontinue any review of CPA’s intervening complaint that might lead to the issuance of a warrant of arrest of M/V Luta based on CPA’s complaint.

As no arrest warrant has been issued on CPA’s behalf, Torres said the court should acknowledge that CPA owes no custodial fees or costs for the seized M/V Luta.

The lawyer said the notice of dismissal deals only with the pre-arrest debts owed CPA, and is not in any way a waiver of any post-arrest amounts due to CPA during the custodial period of M/V Luta.

According to Torres in CPA’s intervening complaint, from March through October 2016, CPA provided necessaries to M/V Luta at each of its three ports: the Port of Saipan, the Port of Tinian, and Rota West Harbor.

These necessaries were for dockage and entry at these ports.

Torres said CPA invoiced M/V Luta’s ownership for these necessaries it has not received any payments.

A week before CPA filed the complaint, Rota Terminal & Transfer Co. Inc., through counsel Janet H. King, requested the court to allow it to intervene in Yamamoto’s lawsuit. The company claims that M/V Luta owes a total of $165,766 in services, costs, fees, and interest.

King said from March 17, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2016, Rota Terminal provided stevedoring services, agency services, notice of arrival clearances, vessel clearances, cargo clearances, government clearances, cargo booking services, and administrative services to M/V Luta.

Three groups have already intervened in Yamamoto’s lawsuit. They are a former captain of M/V Luta and six crewmembers, Long Consulting LLC, and Norton Lilly International. The captain and crewmembers are demanding payment of $183,648 in unpaid wages, while Long Consulting is claiming $300,000 in unpaid services. Norton Lilly is claiming $131,801 in unpaid services.

Yamamoto is suing Hocog and the owner/operators of M/V Luta for allegedly refusing to pay back the $3.4 million that he put up for the vessel.

After Yamamoto filed the lawsuit last Oct. 25, the U.S. Marshal Service seized the ship. The National Maritime Services was then appointed as custodian of the vessel.