Zaji O. Zajradhara v. Scott Turner, in his official capacity; Kevin Cooke, in his official capacity; Rebecca Borja, in her official capacity; Claudette Fernandez, in her official capacity; and Does 1-10, in their official or individual capacities as HUD or NMHC employees

District Court, Northern Mariana Islands·Decided February 2, 2026·No. 1:25-cv-00004·Unknown

Opinion

FILED Clerk District Court FEB 02 2026 for the Northern Mariana Islands (Deputy Clerk) FOR THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS ZAJI O. ZAJRADHARA, Case No. 1:25-cv-00004 Plaintiff, Vv. a SCREENING ORDER DISMISSING g || SCOTT TURNER, in his official capacity; | COMPLAINT WITH LEAVE TO AMEND KEVIN COOKE, in his official capacity; REBECCA BORJA, in her official capacity; CLAUDETTE FERNANDEZ, in her official capacity; and DOES 1-10, in their official or individual capacities as HUD or NMHC employees, Defendants. Before the Court is Plaintiff Zaji O. Zajradhara’s pro se complaint for damages and injunctive relief asserting Bivens claims for alleged violations of his First Amendment and Fifth Amendment rights,! and alleging that a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”) House

Resolution serves as an unconstitutional bill of attainder. (Compl., ECF No. 2.) Zajradhara brings ig ||these claims against four employees of the United States Department of Housing and Urban ' Significant sections of the complaint also discuss the Fourteenth Amendment. (See Compl. 7-11, ECF No. 2.) However, that discussion arises in the context of Zajradhara’s characterization that the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (“CNMI”) is excluded from the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause (see id.), and accordingly, Zajradhara has not asserted any legal claims under the Fourteenth Amendment (see id. at 1-2, 16-18). Thus, the Court will not address any Fourteenth Amendment claims in this screening order.

Development (“HUD”)––Scott Turner, in his official capacity as Secretary of HUD, Kevin Cooke, in his official capacity as General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (“FHEO”) and Senior Community Planning and Development (“CPD”) Representative, Rebecca Borja, in her official capacity as Senior CPD Representative, and Claudette Fernandez, in her official capacity as General Deputy Assistant Secretary for CPD. (Id. at 1–3.) The complaint also names ten Doe Defendants, “[s]ued in their official or individual capacities as HUD or [Northern Marianas Housing Corporation (“NMHC”)] employees[.]” (Id.) Zajradhara claims to be indigent and seeks to proceed in forma pauperis, asking this Court to waive the filing fees and payment of litigation costs. (Id.; ECF No. 1.) The Court granted Zajradhara’s application to proceed in forma pauperis on July 17, 2025 and took the screening of his complaint under submission. (ECF No. 3.) For the following reasons, the Court now DISMISSES Zajradhara’s complaint without prejudice, and grants him leave to amend his complaint consistent with the provisions of this order. The factual basis for Zajradhara’s Bivens claims is alleged “persistent discrimination by HUD officials and NMHC, including exclusion from employment, denial of Community Development Block Grant [(“CDBG”)] funding, and retaliation for exposing corruption and advocating for equitable resource access . . . .”2 (Id. at 1.) With respect to employment discrimination, Zajradhara alleges that

2 The complaint provides information about numerous Memoranda of Understanding (“MOUs”) and agreements between federal agencies and the CNMI. (See id. at 4–7.) Zajradhara explains that “[t]hese MOUs and agreements are central to understanding the scope of HUD’s obligations and the failures of its officials to uphold constitutional and statutory mandates.” (Id. at 2.) However, because Zajradhara has not alleged that he has any enforceable legal right with respect to the agreements, the Court will only consider information about the agreements as part of the factual background for Zajradhara’s claims. he was discriminatorily denied employment “despite [his] exemplary qualifications” for three positions between 2023 to 2024. (Id. at 3–4.) As evidence of “discriminatory animus[,]” Zajradhara alleges that during an interview for one position on May 17, 2024, “an NMHC employee who had previously used racial slurs against Plaintiff in a social setting was present . . . .” (Id. at 4.) With respect to the denial of his applications for CDBG funding, Zajradhara alleges that he “submitted four CDBG funding proposals in 2025, encountering delays and excuses.” (Id.) After requesting “an audit of NMHC and HUD-Hawaii practices from Rebecca Borja” on February 25, 2025, Zajradhara alleges that “[h]e received dismissive remarks about his English proficiency rather than a substantive response.” (Id.) As to both the employment and funding denials, Zajradhara alleges that the “denials intensified” after he engaged in protected First Amendment activities––namely, by raising nepotism concerns on April 8, 2023, “filing a Fair Housing complaint (January 22, 2021), submitting public comments (e.g., Regulations.gov, May 3, 2025), and requesting audits . . . .” (Id.) Zajradhara’s bill of attainder claim is premised upon the CNMI legislature’s alleged adoption of House Resolution (“HR”) 21-5, which declared “Zaji O. Zajradhara, formerly known as Steven Carl Farmer, a persona non grata in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.” (Id. at 12.) The complaint alleges that, “[t]hough styled as a resolution, HR 21-5 carries the force of law by directing administrative actions––transmitted to the Governor, Attorney General, and Bureau of Immigration– –that exclude Plaintiff from employment, funding, and residency rights.” (Id.) Zajradhara alleges that the CNMI legislature passed HR 21-5 in retaliation for his whistleblowing regarding “corruption in HUD’s CDBG programs, CW-1 visa fraud, ARPA/CARES ACT and mismanagement of disaster relief funds post-Typhoon Yutu.” (Id. at 13.) Lastly, Zajradhara alleges that HR 21-5 “triggered administrative actions: NMHC barred him from employment, and HUD-funded programs rejected his applications.” (Id. at 12–13.) Zajradhara seeks relief in the form of: 1) declaratory relief that HR 21-5 is void as a bill of attainder; 2) injunctive relief permanently enjoining the enforcement of HR 21-5; 3) expungement of related records; 4) compensatory damages of $2,400,000; 5) punitive damages on individual defendants; 6) an order of compliance monitoring; and 7) declaratory relief that future “persona non grata” designations are unconstitutional. (Id. at 17.) II. LEGAL STANDARD Because this is a civil action initiated by a pro se party filing in forma pauperis, the Court will screen the complaint to determine if the action is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir. 2000) (en banc), overruled in part on other grounds by, Peralta v. Dillard, 744 F.3d 1076 (9th Cir. 2014). A complaint fails to state a claim if it lacks a cognizable legal theory or does not allege enough facts under a cognizable legal theory. Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 (9th Cir. 1988). As a baseline requirement, a complaint must include a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). The complaint need not include detailed allegations, but it must contain “more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed- me accusation.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Furthermore, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Cor

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Zaji O. Zajradhara v. Scott Turner, in his official capacity; Kevin Cooke, in his official capacity; Rebecca Borja, in her official capacity; Claudette Fernandez, in her official capacity; and Does 1-10, in their official or individual capacities as HUD or NMHC employees, (nmid 2026).

Zaji O. Zajradhara v. Scott Turner, in his official capacity; Kevin Cooke, in his official capacity; Rebecca Borja, in her official capacity; Claudette Fernandez, in her official capacity; and Does 1-10, in their official or individual capacities as HUD or NMHC employees (Zaji O. Zajradhara v. Scott Turner, in his official capacity; Kevin Cooke, in his official capacity; Rebecca Borja, in her official capacity; Claudette Fernandez, in her official capacity; and Does 1-10, in their official or individual capacities as HUD or NMHC employees) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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