The US Supreme Court has denied the Government of Guam's application to delay the Federal Court injunction's mandate to pay the attorney fees of the 2013 lawsuit. However, the governor's chief policy advisor says the case will still proceed.
As reported by Pacific News Center, the US Supreme Court denied the government of Guam's application for a stay on the mandate to pay millions for lawyer fees of the plaintiff in the 'Paeste v. Government of Guam' case.
U.S Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy denied the application for a stay, and the government of Guam is expected to pay $1.7 million to law firms that represented the plaintiff in the case. Although the request for a stay was denied, The Guam Daily Post stated that the court granted an extension in the government of Guam's petition for a writ of certiorari, or a review of the lower court's action.
Even with the $1.7 million to be paid for legal fees, the governor's chief policy advisor attorney Arthur Clark said that they are still optimistic about the case.
"There are no guarantees, but we remain optimistic," he said. "We'll have more time to research and petition in the case." The deadline of the payment was also extended to February 1.
Clark further stated that they are aiming to move the case forward since there is greater implications as to the treatment of the island government relative to the government mandates, as well as on how the court's perceive the application of law in various cases that are filed locally.
Furthermore, in a report by Pacific Daily News, the plaintiff's attorney, Ignacio Aguigui, said that they are not sure as to the government's next step but they are confident with their case.
"We've been successful and we're confident in our filing and happy with the results. We think these decisions at the courts have been in the best interest of the public", Augigui said.
From their previous representatives, the Calvo Fisher & Jacob, Clark said that the case has been handed off to the Kirkland & Ellis law firm which has several offices around the world and with extensive knowledge on Supreme Court cases. They are also representing the government on a pro-bono basis.
