Civil Division

The Civil Division provides legal services on all civil litigation cases involving the Commonwealth government and Executive Branch agencies. The division is responsible for a wide range of cases, including the following most notable:
  • Emergency Management. In the wake of Typhoon Soudelor, the Attorney General:
    • Provided around-the-clock legal services to Homeland Security and Emergency Management Administration at the Emergency Operations Center to implement necessary disaster relief and recovery programs;
    • Drafted State of Disaster Declarations and Orders for the Governor, Directives for HSEMA, and Emergency Procurement Procedures to assist the Commonwealth in its emergency response.
  • Sovereign Immunity Litigation. On appeal in the Ninth Circuit the Commonwealth’s right to self-government and to assert sovereign immunity.
  • CUC Litigation. Whether the CNMI can be sued by an agency which it created and which is, itself, part of the CNMI.
  • Weapons Control Litigation. Represented the Commonwealth in the U.S. District Court on challenges made to the Commonwealth’s firearm statute.
  • Public Land Management. Negotiated the lease agreement with the exclusive casino licensee Imperial Pacific for the Grand Mariana Resort site and assisted with regulations governing the use of public lands.
  • Building Safety Code Enforcement. Assisted Department of Public Works enforce the Building Safety Code against violations for either failing to obtain a building permit and for constructing an unsafe structure.
  • Government Employment Benefits. Settled claims involving the group life insurance program disputed by the insurance company.
  • Environmental Protection Enforcement.
    • Provided assistance in the issuance of a permit for DPW and FEMA in accordance to requirements set forth in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. This enabled FEMA funding to be used for solid waste disposal costs associated with Typhoon Soudelor;
    • Reviewed several permits and federal consistency determinations, including the Navy’s Mariana Island Training and Testing project, Best Sunshine, Alter City, Honest Profit, Ocean Vista, the Tinian Transfer Station, and the Marpi Landfill. These permits require mitigation of impacts by developers, including improving the CNMI’s roads and sewers, particularly in the Garapan area.