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Ex-IPI chair Cui is fined $42,200
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Posted on Apr 14 2022
Former Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC chair Cui Li Jie has been fined $42,200 for failing to comply with the U.S. District Court’s order to preserve what’s called electronically stored information, or ESI data, that’s typically stored in smartphones and other electronic devices.
Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered Cui on Monday to pay $42,200 to the U.S. District Court clerk no later than Monday, April 25.
Cui, who is considered a third-party witness in the labor case of Gold Mantis Construction Decoration (CNMI) LLC, was found in contempt during a hearing last year in December “for failing to comply with the court’s preservation order on ESI data and imposed a daily per diem sanction of $200 starting on Dec. 23, 2021,” as stated in court documents.
Cui
During a status conference on Dec. 29, 2021, the court increased Cui’s per diem sanction to $1,000 starting on Dec. 30, 2021, until Cui purged her contempt just this year on March 10.
The total owed based on the court’s calculations is $42,200; however, Cui “contends that the total sanctions owed is $36,200.”
From Dec. 23, 2021, to Dec. 28, 2021, which is six days, with $200 owed per day, this totals $1,200. From Dec. 29, 2021, to Feb. 7, 2022, for a total of 41 days and $1,000 each day, Cui owes $41,000, for an overall total of $42,200.
Cui is a third-party witness in the lawsuit of the seven construction workers against IPI and its former contractor and subcontractor, MCC International and Gold Mantis Construction Decoration, both of which have already settled with the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs are Tianming Wang, Dong Han, Yongjun Meng, Liangcai Sun, Youli Wang, Qingchun Xu, and Duxin Yan. They are alleging labor abuses and human trafficking. They are represented by Aaron Halegua and Bruce Berline.
According to Saipan Tribune archives, the plaintiffs previously accused Cui of violating the contempt order issued by the court in the lawsuit of the seven workers.
