Manglona sanctions Brown-Blackburn

The federal court has sanctioned attorney Pamela Brown-Blackburn for not complying with the court’s decision and order pertaining to her representation of Carlton Stevens, a former Commonwealth Utilities Corp. staff who is suing CUC and some of its officials for alleged discrimination.

At an order to show-cause hearing on Thursday, U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona ordered Brown-Blackburn to pay a $500 fine no later than Feb. 27, 2015.

Manglona also required Brown-Blackburn to pay CUC’s expenses, including attorney’s fees and costs, for having to file the motion for an order to show cause why Stevens should not be held in contempt.

The judge directed attorney James Sirok, counsel for CUC, to tender his billing to Brown-Blackburn by March 17, 2015.

Brown-Blackburn may object to Sirok’s billing by March 24, 2015.

Manglona allowed Brown-Blackburn to amend Stevens’ third amended complaint consistent with the court’s Dec. 3, 2014, order. Stevens was given until Feb. 27, 2015, to file his amended complaint.

CUC had asked the court to require Stevens and his attorney to explain why they should not be held in contempt for failing to comply with the court’s decision and order.

In his third amended lawsuit, Stevens sued CUC and its officials: executive director Alan W. Fletcher, human resources director Francisco Cepeda, wastewater manager Richard Wasser, and wastewater and wastewater manager Paul Raczkowski.

Stevens is demanding unspecified damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

In CUC’s motions for order to show cause and for dismissal of the third amended complaint, CUC counsel Sirok asked the court to find Stevens and his counsel in contempt for the failure to comply with the Feb. 4 order.

Sirok said in the Feb. 4 order, Manglona specifically limited the amendment “to alleging facts and attaching documents that are relevant to the determination of whether Title VII’s filing deadlines and other exhaustion requirements have been met.”

Sirok said Manglona also noted that in the initial complaint and first amended complaint, Stevens sued four individuals in their personal capacities, and that the she dismissed all claims against the four with prejudice.

Dismissed with prejudice means Stevens cannot re-open the claims again the four.

Sirok said Stevens merely deleted numerous allegations, and in doing so added some 39 new ones. The third amended complaint also continues to identify the four individuals as defendants, he said.