A lawsuit has been filed in the Northern Marianas to prevent the Governor, Benigno Fitial and the former Attorney General, Edward Buckingham, from pursuing a 190-million US dollar deal with Saipan Development LLC.
Under the controversial deal, the Delaware incoporated company is to build and operate a power plant on Saipan with the government utility buying electricity from it.
On Monday, a Representative Janet Maratita filed a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction in the Superior Court.
She says this matter is of great public concern because it involves a secret deal that will cost the CNMI taxpayers and ratepayers more than 200 million dollars over 25 years.
She has also filed a private lawsuit against the governor, Mr Buckingham and the power company for taxpayer's right of action, the illegal expenditure of public funds and a breach of fiduciary duty.
She asked the Superior Court to declare that the power purchase agreement is unconstitutional, illegal, unconscionable, and unjust and therefore cancelled.
