TRO on casino license extended

Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman issued Friday an order extending the temporary restraining order he earlier issued that stops Gov. Eloy S. Inos, the CNMI government, the Lottery Commission, and the Finance secretary from either denying or approving a casino license.

In a one-page order, Wiseman said he finds it necessary for good cause to extend the expiration date of the TRO, which presently expires on June 29, 2014, until the court’s further order. He did not elaborate.

Wiseman issued the TRO on Thursday after casino applicant Marianas Stars Entertainment Inc. filed a lawsuit and requested a TRO, saying it will be irreparably harmed if the TRO is not issued pending the resolution of its case.

Marianas Stars Entertainment’s motion for injunctive relief will be heard on July 1, 2014, at 1:30pm.

In granting the TRO, Wiseman required Marianas Stars Entertainment to submit a $1,000 cash bond before noon today, Monday.

The judge said Marianas Stars Entertainment has demonstrated to a certain extent the probability of success on the merits of its lawsuit and related claims.

Wiseman said Marianas Stars Entertainment has also demonstrated that the TRO will not ultimately injure the ability of Inos, the Lottery Commission, the Finance secretary, and the CNMI government to issue a casino license if this order is issued by mistake since an injunction hearing can be set and heard in advance of the Lottery Commission’s stated July 1, 2014, deadline to issue a casino license.

In its request for TRO, Marianas Stars Entertainment, through counsel Sean E. Frink, claims it will be irreparably harmed if this TRO is not issued because the Lottery Commission’s issuance of a casino license before July 1, 2014, will constitute an illegal act.

Frink said this is because such license cannot be issued without the participation of the Casino Commission, which does not exist in a practical sense because no commissioners have yet been approved to serve, and according to adopted regulations.

In granting the TRO, Wiseman said Star Marianas Entertainment’s claims appear to be founded in fact and the law.

In Star Marianas Entertainment’s petition for administrative appeal, taxpayer’s action, and complaint, Frink said the Lottery Commission has already been warned it is breaking the law by spending Casino Commission funds and usurping Casino Commission authority, yet it continues to press ahead to illegally issue a casino license to Best Sunshine International Ltd., the entity “which was apparently preordained to have the casino license issued to it even before the casino law was passed.”

Frink asked the court to enter an injunction before the TRO’s expiration, stopping the defendants from issuing a casino license unless and until all aspects of the casino law are first complied with, such as the Casino Commission’s required involvement in the applicant investigation and the issuance of regulations.

Marianas Stars Entertainment and Best Sunshine International are both seeking an exclusive Saipan casino resort developer license. Each had already submitted a $1-million nonrefundable application fee, a completed application, a business plan, and a $30-million refundable deposit.