"I will not negotiate with terrorists."
That was the Feb. 20 communication in a case that has been in litigation for almost 20 years.
It was a response from William C. Bischoff assistant district attorney; to Curtis Van de Veld attorney in the law office of Van de Veld Shimizu Canto & Fisher and attorney for Francis L. Gill.
On Feb. 15 Van de Veld wrote to Bischoff. The letter contained the demand that Bischoff transfer 50% of his interest in Bottomless Pit LLC and defend Gill in a civil case or sign a termination of agreement.
Van de Veld alleged that Gill is enforcing the terms of an agreement Bischoff signed with Jeffrey R. Siegel. According to the demand letter Gill allegedly purchased all rights and interests that Siegel had in and to said agreement in a bankruptcy case action in Kansas.
The agreement between Siegel and Bischoff stems from a civil case that was in litigation for more than 17 years over an 80 000 square-meter piece of property in Tamuning (see "Tamuning Coral Pit ownership still unclear" in the March 5 2005 edition of the Journal.). In that case the plaintiffs Concepcion F. Cristobal; Jorge E.U. Cristobal; Beatriz Cristobal; E.C. Leon Guerrero; Juan B. Leon Guerrero; and Alberto C. Lamorena III filed a complaint against Siegel Gill and Coral Pit Inc. disputing the lease with Coral Pit and argued that Coral Pit did not have the option buy the property.
Van de Veld wrote that the alleged agreement between Siegel and Bischoff read "Bischoff agrees that so long as he maintains an active practice of law on Guam he shall represent Siegel consistent with the rules of professional conduct then in force on Guam in any legal matter in which Siegel may be involved in Guam without further legal fees."
In the letter Van de Veld alleged that Bischoff failed to make good on his promise to pursue collection of a judgment against Coral Pit that was assigned to him by Siegel in the agreement in Siegel v. Coral Pit Inc. Bischoff in the agreement allegedly promised Siegel 50% of all proceeds he obtained from collection.
Instead of collecting the judgment it is alleged that Bischoff as general manager and shareholder of Bottomless Pit LLC; obtained an assignment of a competing judgment against Coral Pit held by Roger S. Moran. He allegedly then used that judgment to levy against the assets of Coral Pit Inc. which caused injury and damages to Gill as the successor in interest to Siegel.
The letter made two demands of Bischoff "That you immediately transfer to him [Gill] 50% of all your interest in Bottomless Pit but not less than 25% of all the outstanding stocks of said corporation. This is to comply you with your obligations in Paragraph 2 of the agreement; and that you immediately undertake to defend Mr. Gill in Civil Case Number CV1511-06 which was served to Gill by the United Pacific Islanders’ Corporation and the residents of the Gill-Baza Subdivision at no cost. Or you can agree to pay all Mr. Gill’s costs of defense in said action to comply with your obligations to him under paragraph seven of the agreement."
Alternatively the letter said Bischoff could terminate the agreement and vest his interest from the Siegel v. Coral Pit Inc. case and his shares of Coral Pit Inc. to Gill.
Editor’s Note: The Gill-Baza Subdivision case referred to is in connection with Cyfred Inc. and the Gill-Baza subdivision in Yigo which situation has not been resolved.
