Treasurer lauds Filipino community
The Filipino community of American Samoa, numbering over 3,000, celebrated last Saturday their 115th independence with cultural performances and induction of new officers.
|
$10m for business financing still unspent
American Samoa still has not used a penny of the $10 million it was awarded for the State Small Business Community Initiative Program.
|
Marina off-limits to longliners
It seems there's no end to the bad news hitting the American Samoa longline fleet.
|
StarKist Samoa donates to Samoa
StarKist Samoa and can manufacturer Ardaugh are shipping to Samoa today, pallets of tuna products for the families who have lost so much during Cyclone Evan.
|
Court rejects new trial in Laufou fire case
The Trial Court has denied the government's request for a new trial or to amend the $6.6 million judgment awarded to plaintiff Progressive Insurance Company for losses sustained in the fire that destroyed the old Laufou Shopping Center.
The 8 year old case was sent back to the trial court by the appellate court for review on several limited legal issues.
In seeking a new trial, ASG again argues that the Trial Court had failed to consider the critical issues regarding the preclusive effect of the public duty and sovereign immunity doctrines on the plaintiff's ability to sue ASG under the Government Tort Liability Act.
The court responded that it had already established that neither of these doctrines may bar a plaintiff from bringing suit under the Government Tort against ASG where ASG has tortuously acted in the same manner and to the same extent as private individuals in like circumstances.
The trial judges said it therefore see not need to belabor the point any further.
They wrote, “Our position on this remains unchanged. The present case falls within a category of negligent conduct the Legislature has deemed fit to justify stripping ASG of any protection from liability that the doctrines of sovereign immunity and public duty would have otherwise provided.”
The Trial Court also rejected the government's claim that the court erred when it found that Progressive had exhausted available administrative remedies on its assignment claim.
The court also found unpersuasive ASG's arguments that common law precludes pre-judgment assignment of a tort claim and that such assignment is improper, absent an express statutory waiver.
Likewise, the judges say the government brings nothing new to their final point that a subrogation claim can merge into an assignment claim under tort law.
The ruling was signed by Associate Justice Lyle Richmond and Associate Judge Mamea Sala Jr.
|
