Mafnas drops case vs Finance

Jose Mafnas

Former Division of Customs and Biosecurity director Jose Mafnas has moved to voluntarily dismiss his lawsuit against the Department of Finance and its head, David Atalig, over his abrupt reassignment.

Mafnas, through counsel Charity Hodson, filed a motion yesterday asking the Superior Court to dismiss his case without prejudice. Dismissal without prejudice means the case is dismissed temporarily and can be re-filed again. It was not immediately learned if Mafnas intends to re-file an amended case.

“Pursuant to Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(i)1 of the NMI Rules of Civil Procedure, plaintiff Jose C. Mafnas, by and through undersigned counsel, hereby gives notice of his voluntary dismissal of this case without prejudice,” Hodson said.

Hodson said her client moves to dismiss the complaint as none of the defendants have answered the verified complaint or moved for summary judgment.

Mafnas moved for a voluntary dismissal following the court’s recent order to stay any decision on the motion for TRO and preliminary injunction.

Last Monday, just a few days after receiving a memorandum from Atalig removing him as Customs director and reassigning him to the Department of Commerce, Mafnas filed a motion for a TRO and preliminary injunction against his “demotion.”

Mafnas filed the motion for a TRO because he wanted the court to prevent Finance from removing him from his position as Customs and Biosecurity director or to otherwise reinstate him.

The plaintiffs argued that a TRO should be granted as the reassignment was illegal and was not motivated by the Department of Commerce’s need for his expertise, but instead had everything to do with the political party he aligns himself with.

According to the complaint Hodson filed on behalf of Mafnas, she noted that on the afternoon of July 21, Mafnas was given a memo by Atalig, which purported to “reassign” him to the Department of Commerce as “director of Export, Importation, and Public Outreach” and to report to the secretary of Commerce. However, after contacting the Office of Personnel Management for information on this position, Mafnas learned that no such position exists.

The Department of Commerce is not a division of the Department of Finance; instead, the Department of Commerce is a separate government agency of the Commonwealth government established within the Executive Branch, she said.

“It is no secret that Mafnas is a supporter of the independent Palacios-Apatang gubernatorial ticket for the CNMI November 2022 general election, which ticket is running against the incumbent governor. Mafnas’ constitutional right to vote freely and as he sees fit has been under fire for months, with a recent written communication/threat coming from the incumbent governor’s chief of staff to Mafnas’ niece on May 22, 2022, that if Mr. Mafnas is with the governor, in terms of the vision, then ‘it is all good’ and that the chief of staff, apparently speaking for the governor, sees no ethical conflict in removing a person who is ‘unwilling or incapable of executing the executive direction,’” Hodson said.

“…Mafnas expects that this continued muzzling of his First Amendment rights and the retaliation against Mafnas’ assertions of his freedom to vote as he chooses and not as he is told will continue into his ‘reassigned position’ at the Department of Commerce,” Hodson added.

Mafnas started as a trainee with the Division of Customs in 1984 and has worked his way up within the agency. From 1998 to 2003, Mafnas served as the director of Customs, then from 2003 to 2013, he served as the director of Administration under the Department of Finance. Mafnas later returned to Customs and served as the director of Customs and Biosecurity from 2013 to July 21, 2022, when he was reassigned.