In 2009, Rian Watts and David Morrell were interested in buying a furnished home located in Estate Bonne Esperance on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.  Tanya Blake–Coleman, a licensed real estate broker in the U.S. Virgin Islands, represented the sellers of the property.  Ms. Blake–Coleman was employed by My Dream Properties, Inc., d/b/a Re/Max Dream Properties (“Dream”).  Dream was owned by Rosemary Sauter (“Sauter”), also a licensed real estate broker.Continue Reading Failure to Prosecute: Dream Home Purchase Turns into Litigation Nightmare

Judge Michael C. Dunston, in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Thomas and St. John was asked to rule on a bank’s motion to dismiss in a contract dispute arising from the sale of a condominium in Cacciamani and Rover Corporation v. Banco Popular, 2013 WL 3759824 (V.I.Super. July 10, 2013).Continue Reading What is “Unjust Enrichment” in a Breach of Contract Claim

Chief Justice Curtis V. Gomez of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Thomas – St. John was asked to rule on  two motions by pro se plaintiff Richard Wingrove in the matter of Wingrove v. Bank of Nova Scotia, Slip Copy, 2013 WL 3853402 (D.V.I. July 24, 2013). The first was captioned as a “Petition for Injunction Order.”  The second was entitled a “Motion of Information to the Court.”   Richard Wingrove was the titleholder of Parcel No. 1B1–B Remainder Estate Wintberg, located on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (the “St. Thomas property”). In October 1999, Wingrove borrowed $30,000 from the Bank of Nova Scotia (the “Bank”). Wingrove later defaulted, and the Bank filed an action against him for debt and foreclosure in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.Continue Reading Pro Se Litigant has Hands Full in Property Dispute

When starting your own business, insurance is an important consideration.   Protecting your business investment with insurance minimizes the risks that can arise from unforeseen events, liabilities, and losses.  Finding the right insurance for your business can be a difficult task.  There are many variables that decide the right insurance for a small business.  These include the business structure, business activities, location, whether or not you hire employees—just to name a few.Continue Reading What Type of Insurance Do You Need for Your Small Business?

Money troubles can be embarrassing.  Some people take it as a sign of weakness, and many people don’t like to admit that they need help.  This is the main reason that people avoid contacting their mortgage lenders when they have cash flow problems that affect their ability to remain current on their mortgage payments.  This reasoning, however, can have devastating legal consequences.  As counterintuitive as it may sound, the onset of a financial hardship is precisely the time that you need to reach out and talk to your lender.Continue Reading Avoiding Foreclosure: First Talk to Your Lender

Although discovery is part and parcel of litigation, it is universally regarded as expensive and burdensome, and (sometimes) ripe for sharp practices.  One area where the legitimate fact-finding purpose of discovery runs up against the hardship of discovery is where a court orders discovery to proceed while a motion to dismiss that would, if granted, resolve the matter, remains pending.Continue Reading Staying Discovery Pending a Dispositive Motion to Dismiss

The statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. Federal law or the laws of a state or territory establish the amount of time an individual has to commence their lawsuit by filing their complaint.  If a party fails to file within the timeframe, in all but the rarest of instances, they will be barred from moving forward with their case, and it will be dismissed.Continue Reading Getting to the Court On Time!