From ancestral land to legal conflict, Palau’s reliance on Western courts leaves little room for custom.
Koror, Palau – A civil dispute between two sisters has escalated into a potential jail sentence — not because of violence or fraud, but because one cannot meet a monthly court-ordered payment. What began as an eviction over shared family property has turned into a years-long legal battle involving court-ordered damages, delayed inheritance, and judicial threats of incarceration.
The underlying civil case stemmed from the family home Machelbang in Dngeronger —Plaintiff Frieda Ramarui Cunha, who resides permanently in the United States inherited the home from their mother. She sued to evict her sister, Cornelia Mason, who had returned to Palau to observe the mourning period and settle family affairs. After Mason complied with a court order to vacate, the dispute expanded into a demand for $30,000 in punitive and compensatory damages for hotel, legal, and medical expenses.
While the Court enforced a monthly payment plan of $1,425 — which Mason argues exceeds her capacity to pay — Cunha, in a separate case, remains the Administrator of their mother’s estate and has yet to distribute key assets. These include bank account proceeds, WCTC shares, and a KSPLA lease — all undistributed despite requests and motions for accounting. Mason has now paid over $6,000, submitted a sworn financial declaration, and offered a payment plan of $300 per month. Still, the Court has warned that unless she pays the full $1,425 by June 30, she may be held in contempt and jailed. (At press time, no bench warrant has been issued).
Legal observers question the fairness of jailing a person for failing to pay money they are simultaneously denied access to by the very person demanding it. The Court’s enforcement order, which risks jailing one sister while the other withholds her inheritance, has sparked concern. ‘This is not justice,’ one relative observed. ‘This is what happens when courtrooms replace “ra blai” (the home) and family disputes are decided by contempt orders.’
The courtroom disputes are not limited to immediate siblings. In a case related to the same estate, Cornelia Mason is suing Orakiruu Corporation, a Rehuher Tarimel family-owned business formed by their late mother’s sisters, Maria Rehuher and Faustina Rehuher Marugg. The dispute centers on the Medalaii property, where the Koror State Public Lands Authority (KSPLA) terminated the old lease in 2021 and granted a new one to Mason and her brothers in 2023. Orakiruu’s refusal to vacate has led to claims of unlawful occupancy, interference with leasehold rights, and trespass.
Mason’s filings further state that she was wrongfully arrested in May 2024 on the property. Orakiruu CEO Maria Rehuher had called the police to report her receiving delivery of gravel. Though the disorderly conduct, among other charges, were later dropped, she has filed a separate Notice of Claim against the government for wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, and civil rights violations.
The latest development may be the most troubling yet. In April 2025, the Court granted Orakiruu Corporation a default judgment that forces Mason and her brothers to sign a sublease with Orakiruu — despite their KSPLA lease explicitly prohibiting subleasing for ten years. The order also prohibits Mason from entering the family property at all — effectively evicting a lawful leaseholder in favor of a third party without trial or hearing.
“The judgment compels us to violate our own lease and KSPLA policy,” Mason said. “It’s legally impossible to comply with and strips us of our property rights.” In late June, the Court finally granted Mason’s April 7 request to cancel the default judgment. The judge, however, did not order the eviction of Orakiruu. The parties have sixty days to submit explanations about whether Orakiruu has any legal rights to the Mason’s KSPLA lease property.
Family members note that Orakiruu Corporation is owned and operated by the Rehuher sisters with their nieces and nephews as shareholder— turning this civil enforcement into an intergenerational conflict over control, legacy, and land. What began as a family corporation has now evolved into a private entity attempting to enforce exclusive access to property that was once the Medalaii family home of the siblings, children of David Ramarui.
The case raises broader questions: What happens when Palauan families abandon customary conflict resolution in favor of court battles modeled after U.S. litigation? What happens when the family elders fail their duty to mediate internal disputes and instead take sides. ‘In a society where land and kinship were once resolved through clan, family, and reconciliation, we are now using adversarial processes to tear families apart,’ said a cultural elder who declined to be named.
By: Cornelia R. Mason