Supreme Court to Hold Appellate Arguments at Saipan High Schools

Saipan, CNMI – As part of its community outreach efforts, the Supreme Court will be holding appellate arguments at two high schools during its first quarter Oral Argument Calendar. Both cases will be heard by Chief Justice Alexandro C. Castro, Justice John A. Manglona, and Justice Perry B. Inos. Each session will last about one hour and will be followed by a Question-and-Answer session between the Justices, the attorneys, and high school students in attendance.

The first case, Island Star International v. Feng Yu, will be heard at Saipan Southern High School on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at 10:30 am. Attorneys Cong Nie and Michael Dotts will represent the parties. The case involves two separate issues, one regarding the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and one about the Superior Court’s ability to deny enforcing a settlement agreement. Before the Court can reach the questions of whether the lower court erred in finding that it could not enforce the agreement because there was no meeting of the minds between the parties, the Court must first determine whether it has jurisdiction over the appeal, even though the case is not finalized in the lower court yet.

The second case, D.S. Corporation et al. v. Long Feng Corporation, et al., will be heard at Kagman High School on Thursday, January 30, 2025, at 10:30 am. Attorneys Juan Lizama and Steven Pixley represent the parties. This appeal follows the dismissal of two cases between the parties for D.S. Corporation’s failure to prosecute. Following the dismissal, the plaintiff-appellants requested the court either extend their time to file the appeal or enter a separate judgment that they could appeal. Appellants then appealed the court’s denial of relief, asking the Supreme Court to determine if the trial court was correct to dismiss the case and deny their extension of time to bring the appeal.

The Supreme Court regularly holds appellate arguments outside of the three courthouses to encourage community engagement with current legal issues. Community outreach is one of the Judiciary’s seven Strategic Planning goals, increasing civic engagement generally and providing high school students with direct experience with the courts.

This press release has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the public. For further information, contact the Supreme Court at Supreme.Court@NMIJudiciary.gov.

2025-PR-01

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JANUARY 8, 2025

This press release has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the public. For further information, contact the Supreme Court at Supreme.Court@NMIJudiciary.gov