US Supreme Court denies IPI’s petition for non-binding arbitration regarding possible license revocation

The struggling Saipan casino operator Imperial Pacific International (IPI) has lost its request for non-binding arbitration on a potential license revocation before the US Supreme Court.

According to the court’s ruling, the Commonwealth Casino Commission (CCC) may proceed with a revocation hearing on January 31, 2024. IPI’s registration was halted almost three years ago due to nonpayment of the required annual license fee.

IPI filed an appeal of an earlier ruling that said the CCC did not have to participate in non-binding arbitration to pursue license revocation procedures. Legal General Edward E. Manibusan considered the Supreme Court’s rejection of the review a major development highlighting the need to uphold IPI’s legal and contractual obligations to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

It is now up to the CCC to decide whether to revoke IPI’s license. Mariano Taitano, the CCC Commissioner, expressed relief that the issue had at last been resolved. A different commissioner, Ramon Dela Cruz, underlined how unfortunate it is that IPI must file a lawsuit in order to avoid having to pay the CNMI government what it owes.

IPI was previously granted by the CCC until December 30, 2023, to pay the full $62 million in past-due licensing fees, failing which, license revocation will occur. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the IPI casino to close in March 2020, and in April 2021, its license was revoked.

IPI’s legal challenges argued that the initial closure was a force majeure event; however, the Supreme Court ruled that the force majeure event had ended and that the long-term economic effects were not eligible for that classification. Citing breaches of the casino license agreement and judicial overreach in its interpretation of the agreement, IPI is now pursuing two civil actions against the CCC.

Original story by: IAG