Saipan casino collapse brings more bad news to Imperial Pacific International
Imperial Pacific International (IPI), the company behind the failed Palace Casino project in Saipan, hopes to receive good news about its exclusive gaming license soon. In the meantime, it will continue to deal with bad news. Even if he had no money, two separate cases would cause him further financial hardship.
For years, IPI has been battling Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) officials, including its courts and gaming regulators, over its incompetence. Court-ordered arbitration was recently completed. But no decision has been made yet on what will happen next.
The Palace Casino expansion was never completed and remains closed, raising concerns about its structural integrity and environmental contamination. It’s worth tens of millions of dollars, not including the cost of upgrading the property, which will soon be further demolished.
IPI loses vehicle to pay off debt
Last week, a federal judge in the Northern Mariana Islands granted the U.S. Marshals Service's request to seize IPI's vehicle. The full list of seizures is not yet known. But Marianas Variety reports that the list includes heavy equipment purchased by IPI to build the palace.
The seizure is part of a larger, court-approved settlement resolving a lawsuit brought against IPI by construction company USA Fanter. The casino operator failed to pay more than $2.1 million, prompting the lawsuit.
This triggered a series of auctions of casino equipment, including slot machines, slot machines and more, which are still ongoing. However, the total amount accumulated is less than what is owed on the IPI, and seizing the new car's equity will help narrow the amount outstanding.
IPI did itself no favors in the US Fant case. A few years ago, the company attempted to discredit the company through a series of press releases, resulting in a defamation lawsuit.
USA Fanter’s bill adds another $500,000 after a judge upheld the lawsuit. While IPI covers some of the costs, it’s not nearly enough.
The seized vehicles were valued at approximately $1.05 million, but were based on 2021 values because the facilities, like the casinos, had been idle for a long time, exposed to the salty air seeping through the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and were damaged. damage.
Employee lawsuits continue
The battle with USA Fanter is the longest-running one in the IPI saga, but there was another fight that was even older. The legal battle over employee discrimination doesn't want to stop.
IPI has lost several discrimination cases, including one against former CEO Joshua Gray that cost the company $5 million. The company sought to have a discrimination lawsuit filed by a group of Turkish workers dismissed, but failed, the Saipan Tribune reported.
Workers have found some comfort in this particular struggle. The group has filed two lawsuits, but IPI persuaded a judge to dismiss both lawsuits. Each time, however, the judge left the door open for the plaintiffs to amend their complaint.
IPI tried to get a judge to throw out the Third Amendment claim, but failed. That means the legal troubles will continue until at least the end of this year, more than five years after they began.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the wages of workers from different countries, one of the issues that sparked the firestorm years ago. For example, the plaintiffs found that Taiwanese workers earning three times as much for the same job. Italians earn almost four times as much.
The lawsuit involves three Turkish workers but could be much larger. This could become a class action lawsuit involving 107 Turkish employees and become a class action nightmare for IPI.
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Source: www.casino.org
