Quichocho told to pay sanction, warned of civil contempt

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona directed lawyer Ramon K. Quichocho yesterday to pay a $1,200 sanction for his deficient conduct when he filed late an opposition to a store owner’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit.

Manglona said part of the sanction included paying defendant Ming Yang Corp.’s legal fees in preparing for a motion.

Manglona said over three months have passed since her order and fees have not been paid.

Ming Yang Corp., owner of Ming Yang Market, had asked for a court order directing Quichocho to pay this sanction “with all due haste.”

The judge noted that the time for opposing Ming Yang’s motion has passed without a word from Quichocho.

Manglona said she deems Quichocho’s silence an admission that the motion—numbers and all—is meritorious.

Accordingly, Manglona ordered the lawyer to pay the fees no later than June 25, 2014, at 4:30pm.

“Should this deadline come and pass without payment—or should Quichocho attempt to relitigate this motion where he has already admitted the motion is proper—further remedial measures, such as civil contempt, may come,” the judge said.

Last month, Manglona ruled it unnecessary for Ming Yang Corp.  to file a motion  for the court to continue to retain jurisdiction over the lawsuit filed by the late William A. Tracy until the attorney’s fee involving  Quichohco is resolved.

In that order, Manglona said she had ordered the payment of attorney’s fees and therefore has ancillary jurisdiction to effectuate that decree.

Manglona said this was not a case that the court dismissed (due to a settlement agreement) without ever issuing any order with respect to that agreement.

Attorney Mark A. Scoggins, counsel for Ming Yang Corp., asked the court to retain jurisdiction over the case until the fee issue is resolved.

Scoggins said their office sent last April 11 a bill to Quichocho for legal fees amounting to $1,200 for six hours of work.

Scoggins said on the day of the deadline on April 25, Quichocho sent a message notifying him that the amount was disputed.

Tracy, through Quichocho, filed a lawsuit against several businesses on Saipan, including Ming Yang Corp., for allegedly having facilities that are not accessible to persons with disabilities. Tracy was reportedly found dead last Feb. 7.

In March, Manglona granted Quichocho’s oral motion to dismiss Tracy’s lawsuit.

Manglona stated that the court would be retaining jurisdiction solely to enforce the prior court’s order on the sanctions imposed against Quichocho. Once the sanctions issue is resolved, the case shall be fully closed, she said.

Last March 6, Manglona sanctioned Quichocho for his late filing of Tracy’s opposition to a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The judge ordered Quichocho to pay for their time all four lawyers who appeared in court at that time in preparation for the argument in their motion to dismiss. She required Quichocho to pay these costs personally and that he not charge his client, Tracy.

Quichocho later informed the court that Tracy had been found dead last Feb. 7 but that he actually passed away before that date.

On May 28, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho issued an order suspending Quichocho’s license to practice law for three years for professional misconduct by using a legal tool to harass a former client to get payment.

“Respondent Quichocho’s actions were not based in negligence or mistake, but instead were intentional, calculated to obtain payment from a former client through the misuse of legal mechanisms,” Camacho had said.