David Shipper's Shocking & Unexpected Death in Palau
I lost my best friend . . . .
Presidential legal counsel passes away
WRITTEN BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ T. SENASE
MONDAY, 16 MARCH 2015 23:07
The local and the legal community in Palau were stunned upon learning the unexpected passing of American lawyer David Shipper on Sunday, March 15, 2015. He was 45.
Shipper, who works as legal counsel for President Remengesau, died Sunday evening after suffering a massive heart attack.
According to a source who is a close friend of the lawyer, Shipper complained of chest pains after playing soccer at the Palau National Track and Field Oval and collapsed at his apartment in Medalii around 7:00 PM.
Shipper was then rushed to the Belau National Hospital where doctors tried to revive him to no avail.
David W. Shipper was born and raised in Florence, Alabama.
He has had 18 years of experience as a practicing attorney. The majority of Shipper’s career has been spent overseas, working both privately and for governmental entities in the Pacific island nation of Palau and other parts of Asia.
Shipper has represented clients from Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, China, the Philippines, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Mexico, and Guatemala.
His work with international clients on immigration, international human rights issues, and international business has given Shipper the skill and the passion to effectively represent people who are not in their own land.
An avid sportsman, Shipper played for the Kramer’s Football Club which won the championship in last year’s soccer tournament organized by the Palau Football Association.
After a stint working as a lawyer for the Office of the President during Remengesau’s second term in office, Shipper practiced law in Palau. He made news when he successfully represented the Plaintiffs in a class action suit again the Alien Registration during the time of former President Johnson Toribiong.
In 2013, Shipper returned to his hometown of Florence, Alabama to set up Shipper Law Firm LLC. Later, he returned to Palau to work again for Pres. Remengesau.
Shipper is licensed to practice law in Alabama, California, and the Republic of Palau.
Shipper’s untimely and sudden passing stunned many people who have known and worked with him.
“Dave Shipper, one of Palau's and Alabama's finest attorneys, was a generous, kind, fun-loving guy,” lawyer Megan Knize posted in Facebook. Knize previously worked as clerk at the Palau Supreme Court.
Said Ringgit Sari in a Facebook post,” I Feel devastated to hear about your passing this morning Dave Shipper. Hard to believe. Such a great man, with a good heart. On behalf of the Indonesian community in Palau thank you for all you've done to help Indonesian fisherman. It’s a privilege to know you. You will be greatly missed.”
http://www.islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=488%3Apresidential-legal-counsel-passes-away&catid=8%3Alatest-news&Itemid=1
---------------------------------------------
Ben Carter
18 hrs · Louisville, KY, United States ·
I always feel a little uncomfortable in my own skin. There is a gnawing insecurity in my mind that there's something I'm not doing, some way I'm not being, that might be better than what I'm doing or how I'm being right now.
That's why I liked Dave Shipper, even though I don't claim to know him well: when I met him in Palau in 2006, he struck me immediately as a person who was deeply comfortable with who he was and the work and play he did in the world. That he passed away far too early is profoundly unfair-because he was someone who seemed truly satisfied with his place in the world, he deserved more time with it. It seems unjust for those of us less skilled at enjoying the world as it is to continue to get to live in it without him.
My buddy Paul Miovas, knew Dave well. You should read his words.
For my attorney friends, here's what you should know about Dave. He was the kind of attorney who would sue a country to recover an unconstitutional fee levied against vulnerable foreign workers.
And win.
-----------------------------------------------
Foreigners in Palau to start receiving refunds for the alien registration fee
March 12, 2013 5:00pm
Foreigners in Palau will start receiving refunds for the alien registration fee wrongfully charged by the Palau government in 2010. On Monday, the Palau government announced that it is returning the money amounting to $131,175 as refunds to the 5,247 foreign workers and dependents who paid and registered under the unconstitutional alien fee regulation imposed by former president Johnson Toribiong.
A big bulk of foreign workers in Palau are composed of Filipinos, and more than 3,000 Filipinos registered and paid the $25 unconstitutional fee.
In 2010, Pinay journalist Bernadette Carreon was the named plaintiff in a class action suit against Toribiong and Palau Immigration.
The lawsuit was against a regulation requiring all foreign workers to register and pay a fee.
The case was filed by American lawyer David Shipper, who successfully stopped the government from further collecting such fees.
However before acquiring an injunction to block the regulation’s implementation, the government had already collected over $100,000 from foreigners.
On February 2011, the trial court ruled that the regulation was unconstitutional and the fee was an unconstitutional tax. It further ruled that the regulation violates the equal protection clause because it was not implemented against all foreigners in Palau.
American citizens, and those from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands were exempted from the regulation.
The Toribiong government appealed the case but the appellate court upheld the trial court ruling that the fee imposed was an unconstitutional tax in March 2012.
The Appellate also ordered the case returned to the Trial Court for further analysis on the issue of equal protection.
That issue is still pending in court. The trial court then ordered the return of the money a year ago.
According to Carreon, it was a difficult case to fight as she was ordered to leave the country in 2011 by the Toribiong government.
Carreon , through her lawyer, successfully obtained a stay of deportation from the court and the order allowed her re-entry to Palau.
In November 2012, the people of Palau elected Tommy Remengesau Jr. President.
The Office of the President has also issued a statement that it is happy to announce that refunds are now available.
“I am happy that foreign workers will get their refund after more than two years of fighting this case,” Carreon stated.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Shipper meanwhile said, “we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all will get their money back, including those who may have already left Palau.”
The initial payout phase to foreigners in Palau will begin this weekend and will run for two weekends. Thereafter, arrangements will be made to locate and pay those who have left Palau. - VVP, GMA News
More from: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/298910/pinoyabroad/news/foreigners-in-palau-to-start-receiving-refunds-for-the-alien-registration-fee
Presidential legal counsel passes away
WRITTEN BY JOSE RODRIGUEZ T. SENASE
MONDAY, 16 MARCH 2015 23:07
The local and the legal community in Palau were stunned upon learning the unexpected passing of American lawyer David Shipper on Sunday, March 15, 2015. He was 45.
Shipper, who works as legal counsel for President Remengesau, died Sunday evening after suffering a massive heart attack.
According to a source who is a close friend of the lawyer, Shipper complained of chest pains after playing soccer at the Palau National Track and Field Oval and collapsed at his apartment in Medalii around 7:00 PM.
Shipper was then rushed to the Belau National Hospital where doctors tried to revive him to no avail.
David W. Shipper was born and raised in Florence, Alabama.
He has had 18 years of experience as a practicing attorney. The majority of Shipper’s career has been spent overseas, working both privately and for governmental entities in the Pacific island nation of Palau and other parts of Asia.
Shipper has represented clients from Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, China, the Philippines, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Slovakia, Russia, Mexico, and Guatemala.
His work with international clients on immigration, international human rights issues, and international business has given Shipper the skill and the passion to effectively represent people who are not in their own land.
An avid sportsman, Shipper played for the Kramer’s Football Club which won the championship in last year’s soccer tournament organized by the Palau Football Association.
After a stint working as a lawyer for the Office of the President during Remengesau’s second term in office, Shipper practiced law in Palau. He made news when he successfully represented the Plaintiffs in a class action suit again the Alien Registration during the time of former President Johnson Toribiong.
In 2013, Shipper returned to his hometown of Florence, Alabama to set up Shipper Law Firm LLC. Later, he returned to Palau to work again for Pres. Remengesau.
Shipper is licensed to practice law in Alabama, California, and the Republic of Palau.
Shipper’s untimely and sudden passing stunned many people who have known and worked with him.
“Dave Shipper, one of Palau's and Alabama's finest attorneys, was a generous, kind, fun-loving guy,” lawyer Megan Knize posted in Facebook. Knize previously worked as clerk at the Palau Supreme Court.
Said Ringgit Sari in a Facebook post,” I Feel devastated to hear about your passing this morning Dave Shipper. Hard to believe. Such a great man, with a good heart. On behalf of the Indonesian community in Palau thank you for all you've done to help Indonesian fisherman. It’s a privilege to know you. You will be greatly missed.”
http://www.islandtimes.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=488%3Apresidential-legal-counsel-passes-away&catid=8%3Alatest-news&Itemid=1
---------------------------------------------
Ben Carter
18 hrs · Louisville, KY, United States ·
I always feel a little uncomfortable in my own skin. There is a gnawing insecurity in my mind that there's something I'm not doing, some way I'm not being, that might be better than what I'm doing or how I'm being right now.
That's why I liked Dave Shipper, even though I don't claim to know him well: when I met him in Palau in 2006, he struck me immediately as a person who was deeply comfortable with who he was and the work and play he did in the world. That he passed away far too early is profoundly unfair-because he was someone who seemed truly satisfied with his place in the world, he deserved more time with it. It seems unjust for those of us less skilled at enjoying the world as it is to continue to get to live in it without him.
My buddy Paul Miovas, knew Dave well. You should read his words.
For my attorney friends, here's what you should know about Dave. He was the kind of attorney who would sue a country to recover an unconstitutional fee levied against vulnerable foreign workers.
And win.
-----------------------------------------------
Foreigners in Palau to start receiving refunds for the alien registration fee
March 12, 2013 5:00pm
Foreigners in Palau will start receiving refunds for the alien registration fee wrongfully charged by the Palau government in 2010. On Monday, the Palau government announced that it is returning the money amounting to $131,175 as refunds to the 5,247 foreign workers and dependents who paid and registered under the unconstitutional alien fee regulation imposed by former president Johnson Toribiong.
A big bulk of foreign workers in Palau are composed of Filipinos, and more than 3,000 Filipinos registered and paid the $25 unconstitutional fee.
In 2010, Pinay journalist Bernadette Carreon was the named plaintiff in a class action suit against Toribiong and Palau Immigration.
The lawsuit was against a regulation requiring all foreign workers to register and pay a fee.
The case was filed by American lawyer David Shipper, who successfully stopped the government from further collecting such fees.
However before acquiring an injunction to block the regulation’s implementation, the government had already collected over $100,000 from foreigners.
On February 2011, the trial court ruled that the regulation was unconstitutional and the fee was an unconstitutional tax. It further ruled that the regulation violates the equal protection clause because it was not implemented against all foreigners in Palau.
American citizens, and those from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands were exempted from the regulation.
The Toribiong government appealed the case but the appellate court upheld the trial court ruling that the fee imposed was an unconstitutional tax in March 2012.
The Appellate also ordered the case returned to the Trial Court for further analysis on the issue of equal protection.
That issue is still pending in court. The trial court then ordered the return of the money a year ago.
According to Carreon, it was a difficult case to fight as she was ordered to leave the country in 2011 by the Toribiong government.
Carreon , through her lawyer, successfully obtained a stay of deportation from the court and the order allowed her re-entry to Palau.
In November 2012, the people of Palau elected Tommy Remengesau Jr. President.
The Office of the President has also issued a statement that it is happy to announce that refunds are now available.
“I am happy that foreign workers will get their refund after more than two years of fighting this case,” Carreon stated.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Shipper meanwhile said, “we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all will get their money back, including those who may have already left Palau.”
The initial payout phase to foreigners in Palau will begin this weekend and will run for two weekends. Thereafter, arrangements will be made to locate and pay those who have left Palau. - VVP, GMA News
More from: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/298910/pinoyabroad/news/foreigners-in-palau-to-start-receiving-refunds-for-the-alien-registration-fee