Imperial Pacific International has been ordered to pay US$5.6 million to its former contractor, Pacific Rim Land Development LLC, by the Federal Court for breaching a promissory note.
The civil ruling was handed down on Monday after the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands issued a partial judgement last week pertaining to the breach and denying a motion by IPI to dismiss Pacific Rim’s lawsuit, the Marianas Variety reported.
Pacific Rim had sued IPI for breach of contract after the Saipan casino operator refused to pay for services at the site of IPI’s Imperial Palace‧Saipan worth US$5.65 million – despite the agreed-upon works being completed on 30 September 2018.
IPI’s defense was based on its claim that Pacific Rim had overstated the cost of completing the works.
“Pacific Rim fraudulently obtained from IPI a promissory note, which is therefore unenforceable,” IPI said, adding that Pacific Rim had also failed to comply with a contractual obligation to enter into mediation over the matter before filing any lawsuits.
The court ruling, for US$5.65 million in total, includes reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.