A petition by troubled Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) to require the local regulator to enter into non-binding arbitration regarding possible license revocation has been denied by the US Supreme Court, allowing an upcoming revocation hearing to proceed as planned.
The revocation hearing is scheduled to take place on 31 January 2024, almost three years since the company’s license was suspended for failure to pay certain annual license fees as required under its license agreement.
As per Marianas Variety, IPI had filed the petition for writ of certiorari on 6 November 2023 seeking a review of a prior ruling which deemed that the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) did not need to enter into non-binding arbitration regarding license revocation proceedings.
However, the Supreme Court has now rejected any such review in decision described by Attorney General Edward E. Manibusan as “important for the people of the Commonwealth in enforcing IPI’s failure to meet its contractual and statutory obligations to the people of the CNMI.”
CCC commissioner Mariano Taitano said the regulator could now decided whether or not to revoke IPI’s license, stating, “Finally, this issue will come to rest.”
Fellow commissioner Ramon Dela Cruz added, “It was unfortunate that IPI had to take this route in an attempt to avoid paying its obligation to the CNMI government.”
The CCC previously gave IPI 30 days, expiring on 30 December 2023, to pay the full US$62 million it owes to the Commonwealth Casino Commission in unpaid license fees or face revocation of its license.
IPI’s casino was shuttered in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its license suspended in April 2021 for failure to pay its fees. The CCC has long since threatened to revoke the company’s license but has faced legal challenges from IPI, which argued that the initial reason its casino closed was due to a force majeure event.
However, the Supreme Court in January noted that such force majeure event has ended and that any lingering effects on IPI’s economic state do not constitute such an event either.
IPI currently has two civil suits filed against the CCC claiming the regulator itself has breached the casino license agreement and is taking a “judicial role” in its interpretation of the agreement.
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