Emerenciana Peter-Palican v. Government of the Commonwealth

Emerenciana Peter-Palican appeals from the district court’s summary judgment in favor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Governor Eloy S. Inos (collectively, “the Commonwealth”) in Peter-Palican’s 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action arising from her termination from her position as Special Assistant to the Governor for Women’s Affairs. In an earlier appeal, we vacated the district court’s judgment in favor of Peter-Palican because the Commonwealth Supreme Court’s answer to our certified questions conclusively determined that Peter-Palican did not have a constitutionally protected interest in continued employment beyond the term of the governor who appointed her, and her termination without cause therefore did not violate the Due Process Clause. Peter-Palican v. Gov’t of N. Mariana Islands, 695 F.3d 918, 920 (9th Cir.2012). We remanded, however, for the district court to address Peter-Palican’s retaliation, breach of contract, and estoppel claims in the first instance. Id. Peter-Palican now assigns error to the district court’s grant of summary judgment on those claims. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . On de novo review, Biggs v. Best, Best & Krieger,…