Parties meet with judge for settlement conference

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - The parties in the ongoing tax refund class action lawsuit met with Magistrate Judge Joaquin Manibusan again today for a third settlement conference. Attorneys for Jeff and Rea Paeste and Sharon Zapanta have been meeting with the government's legal counsel and members of the governor's fiscal team to discuss the provisions of the permanent injunction that will spell out how and when the government will pay out tax refunds each year. 

One sticking point has been the time frame for which the government pays out the refunds.  The plaintiffs are looking at six months while the government was initially pushing for one year.

The deadline for filing the proposed permanent injunction is November 16.