Guam AG says court's decision opens 'a Pandora's box of legal problems'

Court rules hotel contract requires the governor's signature; Moylan claims the administration had hundreds of deals unsigned by the governor

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

The Office of the Attorney General’s $1.13 million hotel contract for its sleep shelter program required the governor’s signature, the Superior Court of Guam said in a decision upholding Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero's lawsuit and extending the preliminary injunction on the Dignity Project.

The court’s June 9 decision put on hold Attorney General Douglas Moylan’s agreement with The Tropical Palm Hotel for the homeless project, which was initially scheduled to launch on April 28.

In denying Moylan’s motion to dismiss the governor's lawsuit, Superior Court Judge Elyze Iriarte pointed out that the governor “has illustrated the likelihood of success on the merits in proving that she was deprived of her executive right and duty to approve the TPH contract.”

The governor refused to sign the contract, but Moylan argued that her signature was not required as the Opioid Recovery Advisory Council had approved the agreement.

Lou Leon Guerrero and Douglas Moylan

 The court, however, rejected Moylan’s argument, saying the governor has

“jurisdiction to file this matter.”

Moylan said the court’s decision “has opened a Pandora's box of legal problems” that would necessitate a revisit of the administration’s previous actions.

“The governor now has to reconcile why she has not signed hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts in her past six years in office," he said.

The attorney general said the court's decision "jeopardizes the enforceability of every contract" entered into by officials of the Department of Administration without the governor's signature.

“Every payment on an unsigned contract appears now to have been illegally issued by her own administration," Moylan said.

"In our case, we have not made any payment because she blindly fought us in court, not recognizing her administration's own illegal actions, according to the judge's recent decision," he added.

In denying Moylan's motion, Iriarte said “the matter is not moot” just because the governor refused to sign the contract.

The court noted that the legislature had empowered the governor to approve contracts.

"When the governor exercises an approval, she is providing an official pronouncement that the contract is 'good' or that the contract has passed her judgment," the court said.

The judge said the governor's nod on any contract "is a substantive rather than a ministerial duty, and in line with her responsibility to ensure the integrity of the centralized financial system and the health of overall government finances."

The governor is not expected to just rubber-stamp the attorney general's transactions, the court noted.

“How the court's determination impacts the processing of procurements does not change its analysis,” the court said in its 28-page decision. “The purpose of a preliminary injunction is to prevent irreparable injury so as to preserve the Court's ability to render a meaningful decision on the merits.

A status hearing on the case is scheduled for July 23.

Questioning Moylan’s sole-source contract, the court said the attorney general was not authorized to enter into the hotel agreement, which did not meet the strict requirements of the law for such a procurement method.

The suspended Dignity Project would open a temporary lodging for “meal, shower, sleep and work.”

The court said the OAG’s possible violation of Guam’s procurement laws “demonstrated irreparable harm” and that “the expenditure of this large sum required a careful and lawful procurement and approval, and that just did not occur in this case.”

“The attorney general has gone unchecked for far too long, spending enormous sums of money without regard for the law,” Leon Guerrero said, adding that the court’s decision “validates that the attorney general is not above the law.”

“This attorney general is so quick to point out the shortcomings of our government agencies, even though the law requires him to help our agencies. Meanwhile, he has run amok, drunk with power and self-interest,” said Krystal Paco-San Agustin, communications director. “If the AG wants to hold people accountable for violating the law, he should start by taking a good, hard look in the mirror.”

Moylan lashed back, saying “this administration lacks the wisdom to lead and is blinded by the governor's desperation in selling out the taxpayers to build an unfunded $1.5 billion and ill-conceived, 10-year to construct medical complex that lacks any plans and violates the Guam legislature's right to control government misspending,  All the whilst as healthcare, education and public safety continues to deteriorate the people's quality of life.”

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