Flores widow’s $40M lawsuit dismissed

The federal court yesterday issued an order denying the request of the only child of former Saipan mayor Donald Flores and Cecilia Flores to allow him to pursue his mother’s $40-million lawsuit against a bank and its former employees.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona also dismissed without prejudice Cecilia Flores’ lawsuit.

Dismissal without prejudice means the case can be re-filed in the future.

Manglona ruled that because Cecilia Untalan Flores’ claims were extinguished when she died in September 2015, son Derron Gerard Flores’ motion to substitute him as plaintiff in the lawsuit is denied.

Manglona said since she has not considered the merits of the claims, the dismissal will be without prejudice.

The judge directed the court’s clerk to close the case.

Manglona ruled that after considering all the papers and the oral arguments of counsel for Derron Flores and for the defendants, she finds that CNMI law, as determined by the CNMI Supreme Court in the Indalecio v. Yarofalir case, does not provide for the survival of tort claims upon the death of the tort victim.

Manglona heard the motion last April 21.

In his motion for substitution, Derron Gerard Flores, through counsel Juan T. Lizama, argued, among other things, that the common law requires—and basic notions of justice urge—the court to allow him to take his mother’s position to pursue her claims.

Lizama said this case concerns the property of Cecilia Flores, specifically, a certificate of deposit in the amount of $200,000.

Cecilia Flores sued MUFG Union Bank, Ken Kato, and Victoria B. Concepcion over a bank manager’s alleged unauthorized release of Donald Flores’ money years prior to his death from his $200,000 time certificate of deposit (CD) to a person representing him.

Lizama said the tortious actions of defendants MUFG Union Bank, Kato, and Concepcion concern that property and that defendants have impliedly recognized that the certificate of deposit is property.

Lizama noted that in their motion for removal, defendants stated that Cecilia Flores’ “claims arise from traditional banking activities.”

The defendants asked the court to dismiss Cecilia Flores’ lawsuit against them considering that she already passed away.

MUFG Union Bank, Kato, and Concepcion, through counsels Sean E. Frink and Marcia Schultz, asked the court to deny a motion to substitute the son for Flores in the lawsuit.

Frink and Schultz said the claims of Flores in her lawsuit were extinguished when she passed away.

Frink and Schultz said Flores’ complaint alleges two fraud causes of action, both of which are clearly identified by Flores in the complaint as torts.

The lawyers said the CNMI Supreme Court has made clear that tort claims do not survive the death of an alleged tort victim.

When Flores passed away, her counsel, Lizama, filed a notice of death.

Lizama requested the court to substitute Flores’ son, Derron, as substitute plaintiff in the complaint.

The Superior Court approved Derron as personal representative and only beneficiary of Flores’ estate.

Flores died last Sept. 25. She was the appointed administratrix in the probate of the estate of late former Saipan Mayor Donald Flores.

In 2011, Donald Flores filed a lawsuit in federal court against Union Bank of California and First Hawaiian Bank for allegedly refusing to return the principal and interest earned on the CD. Donald Flores passed away in June 2014. Cecilia Flores then substituted him as plaintiff.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently ruled that the claims of Donald Flores that a bank breached the contract and violated the Commonwealth Consumer Protection Act in connection with his alleged time certificate of deposit in the amount of $200,000 were timely filed in court and so may proceed.

The Ninth Circuit reversed the federal court’s ruling that the clock on Flores’ claims started to run in 1999 when he visited the bank, so his right to sue had expired by 2011 when he filed the lawsuit.