“The first time a bankruptcy case arrived on my docket. I thought, ‘wow, this is like organic chemistry.’”
– Guam Chief District Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood
As we celebrate our 100 years of existence, this week we are sharing the story of our colleagues who provide access to bankruptcy relief more than 3,000 miles west of Hawaii in the United States territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Guam’s sole federal district judge is Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, appointed as an Article IV judge. CNMI’s sole federal district judge, Chief Judge Ramona Manglona, is appointed under a federal law known as the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States (the “Covenant”). Together, these good friends and “Island Sisters” handle all manner of civil, criminal and bankruptcy cases on their respective islands. Understanding bankruptcy practice in Guam and the CNMI requires understanding not only the Bankruptcy Code, but also the unique history and constitutional status of these United States territories.
I. A Brief History of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
Indigenous History
The first inhabitants of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands were the Chamorro people, who settled the Mariana Islands approximately 3,500 to 4,000 years ago after migrating from Southeast Asia. Ferdinand Magellan made first contact in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe. Spain formally claimed the islands in 1565. Missionary efforts accelerated Spanish colonization.
Guam Under United States Control
Following the Spanish-American War, under the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Guam to the United States. Guam was administered primarily by the United States Navy for nearly half a century. During World War II, Guam was invaded and occupied by Imperial Japan following its attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan’s occupation endured until American forces liberated Guam on July 21, 1944.
Following the war, Congress enacted the 1950 Organic Act of Guam. The Act fundamentally transformed Guam’s political relationship with the United States by granting United States citizenship to persons born in Guam, establishing a civilian government, creating executive, legislative, and judicial branches and providing a bill of rights modeled after the United States Constitution. Today, Guam remains an unincorporated territory of the United States. Guam’s residents are U.S. citizens, elect their own governor and legislature, and send a non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. Citizens of Guam cannot vote in presidential elections.
The Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands followed a more complicated colonial path. Following the Spanish-American War, Spain sold the Northern Mariana Islands to Germany in 1899. During World War I, Japan seized the islands from Germany under its alliance with Britain. After the war, the islands were assigned to Japan as mandates by the League of Nations. Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, the United Nations established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, placing the Northern Mariana Islands under United States administration. During the 1970s, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands voted to establish a permanent political union with the United States. This relationship was formalized through the Covenant which extended United States sovereignty, constitutional protections, and citizenship to the residents of the CNMI. Today, the CNMI functions as a self-governing commonwealth under U.S. sovereignty. Like Guam, its residents elect local officials and a non-voting delegate to Congress while its citizens cannot vote in presidential elections.
II. Federal Judicial Structure in Guam and the CNMI
The federal courts in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are territorial courts created by Congress pursuant to Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution, commonly known as the Territorial Clause.
The District Court of Guam possesses “the jurisdiction of a district court of the United States.”[1] Judges are appointed by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serve ten-year terms. The court exercises essentially the same federal jurisdiction as district courts throughout the United States, including original jurisdiction over bankruptcy matters under 28 U.S.C. § 1334.
Like its counterpart in Guam, the CNMI District Court is an Article IV court whose judges are appointed for renewable ten-year terms. Congress granted the CNMI court virtually the same jurisdiction exercised by Article III district courts, including bankruptcy jurisdiction arising under Article I.
III. Bankruptcy Practice
Guam’s population is approximately 170,000 residents, while the CNMI has approximately 50,000 residents. Bankruptcy filings are comparatively lower than other bankruptcy courts, and large Chapter 11 cases occur only occasionally. Since 1978, there have been a total of 394 bankruptcy cases in the CNMI. 338 of those cases were Chapter 7 cases while only 33 were Chapter 11 and 23 cases filed under Chapter 13. Although bankruptcy filings in Guam are more numerous than in the CNMI, the overall caseload remains modest compared to most other federal bankruptcy courts. Guam’s earliest identified bankruptcy filing dates to 1951; however, many records predating 1994 are not available in electronic format and require additional archival research to compile. The court’s electronic case records reflect more than 4,786 bankruptcy filings since 1994, including 4,085 Chapter 7 cases, 658 Chapter 13 cases, 42 Chapter 11 cases, and one Chapter 15 case. These figures illustrate that, while Guam experiences a greater volume of bankruptcy filings than the CNMI, both jurisdictions continue to have relatively small bankruptcy dockets by national standards. Bankruptcy cases appealed from Guam and the CNMI go directly to the Ninth Circuit. Because the islands’ economies are concentrated among relatively few employers and industries, principally tourism and military-related commerce, a single business bankruptcy may affect a significant percentage of the local workforce and economy. Judges therefore confront bankruptcy cases whose local economic impact is often disproportionate to their national significance.
IV. Notable Bankruptcy Cases in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
Although bankruptcy filings are relatively infrequent, several cases have had significant economic and public importance. In Guam, one of the most consequential proceedings involved the Archdiocese of Agaña, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 following hundreds of sexual abuse claims. The reorganization became one of the largest and most complex bankruptcy proceedings in Guam’s history, involving extensive litigation, insurance disputes, and negotiations that ultimately resulted in a settlement trust providing compensation to abuse survivors while allowing the Archdiocese to continue operating.
The Northern Mariana Islands has likewise experienced only a handful of high-profile bankruptcy proceedings. One notable case involved the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI), LLC, the developer and operator of Saipan’s sole casino resort. The case involved more than $1.2 billion in gambling debt receivables, $165 million in liabilities, numerous domestic and international creditors, and the court-supervised sale of the company’s principal assets.
V. Chief District Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood
Chief District Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood has devoted all of her professional career to public service in Guam. Born in Hawaii, raised in Guam and of Chamorro and Pohnpeian descent, she earned both her undergraduate and law degrees before returning home to practice law and serve in government. Prior to joining the federal bench, Judge Tydingco-Gatewood worked as a prosecutor in both Guam and Missouri and later held several significant public positions, including serving as Guam’s Chief Prosecutor and then as a trial judge and an Associate Justice with Guam’s Trial Court and Supreme Court, respectively. In 2006, she was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the first Chamorro woman federal judge for Guam.[2]
Speaking of the Archdiocese of Agaña case, Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood noted “bankruptcy is truly a very emotional experience for everybody. I was so touched by the testimony of the Archbishop of Guam and a victim of sex abuse in this high-profile Chapter 11 case. I’m also appreciative of the direct access I have in calling our designated judge Robert Faris to help guide me through difficult cases.”
VI. Chief District Judge Ramona V. Manglona
Chief District Judge Ramona Manglona is a native of the Northern Mariana Islands. She pursued higher education on the continental United States before returning home to practice law. Judge Manglona held several important legal positions prior to her judicial appointment, including serving as the first female Attorney General and as a judge on the Superior Court of the Northern Mariana Islands.[3] In 2011, she was nominated by President Obama to serve as Judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands. Following Senate confirmation, she became the first woman to hold the position. She was renominated by President Biden and was confirmed by the Senate in 2024 to serve another ten-year term.
Judge Manglona has observed that “[Bankruptcy] is not just purely facts and law. It’s trying to look for solutions, and that is such a skill and a talent. I appreciate bankruptcy judges first for their technical expertise but also being able to deal with the panoply of complicated issues while being able to recognize the human side of things.”
Conclusion
Judges Tydingco-Gatewood and Manglona cover all the territory of Article III Judges but also handle all the duties of Article I Bankruptcy Judges. They must be familiar with the widest range of federal law among all federal trial court judges. They serve their community with wisdom and compassion and are truly among the most collegial judges on the entire federal bench.
[1] 48 U.S.C. 1424 – 1424(b).
[2] Her term was later extended by virtue of a holdover provision found in the Organic Act of Guam.
[3] Her husband John is currently an Associate Justice of the CNMI Supreme Court.