Government of the Virgin Islands v. 2.569 U.S. Acres of Land Consisting of Parcel No. 404 Hospital Ground

32 V.I. 194, 1995 WL 467702, 1995 V.I. LEXIS 30
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedJuly 31, 1995
DocketCivil No. 856/1992
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 32 V.I. 194 (Government of the Virgin Islands v. 2.569 U.S. Acres of Land Consisting of Parcel No. 404 Hospital Ground) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Government of the Virgin Islands v. 2.569 U.S. Acres of Land Consisting of Parcel No. 404 Hospital Ground, 32 V.I. 194, 1995 WL 467702, 1995 V.I. LEXIS 30 (virginislands 1995).

Opinion

SWAN, Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

FACTS

On August 13, 1992, the Government of the Virgin Islands ("Government") filed a complaint for condemnation, seeking to condemn Parcel No. 404, Hospital Ground, No. 9 New Quarter, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, pursuant to the local Condemnation statute. Title 28 V.I.C. Section 411 et seq.

On September 24,1992, this Court entered an order vesting title to the condemned parcel in the Government. Simultaneous with the filing of the declaration of taking, the Government deposited $ 258,333.00 with the Clerk of the Court, to justly compensate the legal owners of the property, namely, Trans-Carib Realty Corp. ("Trans-Carib") and Ashre de Largarde ("de Largarde"). With the vesting of title to the property in the Government, the right to just compensation accrued to the legal owners of the property. (Title 28 V.I.C. Section 421(a)(5)).

On April 15,1993, this Court entered an order directing the Clerk of the Court to forthwith distribute the deposited funds to defendants Trans Carib and de Largarde. The Clerk, having previously deposited the funds in an interest bearing account with a local banking institution, distributed the proceeds to the owners on April 21,1993, minus the accrued interest. Defendants now assert that they are entitled to the accrued interest on the $258,333.00. For the reasons enumerated below, their claims for the accrued interest are denied.

ISSUE

Whether in condemnation proceedings, the owners of the Condemned property are entitled to the accrued interest earned on funds deposited in the Court7s registry for the purpose of compensating the owners of the condemned property.

[196]*196DISCUSSION

Title 28 V.I.C. Section 411 et seq. enumerates the procedures the Government and the Court must follow in condemnation proceedings. The statute is clear and unambiguous. Section 421(b) of Title 28 provides that, "upon the application of the parties in interest, the Court may order that the money deposited in the court ... be paid forthwith for or on account of the just compensation to be awarded in the proceedings...." (underline supplied) However, Section 421(a)(5) provides in pertinent part that "... interest shall not be allowed on so much thereof as shall have been paid into the Court. No sum so deposited and paid into the Court shall be subject to any charge for commission, deposit or custody."1 (underlined supplied) Importantly, Section 421(a)(5) addresses both the issue of interest on judgments awarded landowners as just compensation for taking their properties, and the issue of interest earned on the same funds deposited into the Court's registry to compensate landowners. It is noteworthy that in section 421, the language preceding the prohibition on awarding interest to landowners on the funds deposited in the Court's registry does provide for interest on judgments awarded landowners for taking their properties. The elucidating language in section 421(a)(5) states "... ; and said compensation shall be ascertained and awarded in said proceeding and established by judgment therein, and the said judgment shall include, as part of the just compensa[197]*197tion awarded, interest at the rate of six per centum per annum on the amount finally awarded as the value of the property as of the date of taking horn said date to the date of payment; ...." Therefore, it is significant that the statutory language expressly allows interest on the judgment awarded to landowners for just compensation, but the same section expressly and explicitly prohibits paying landowners the accrued interest on the same funds deposited in the Court's registry. The intent of the statute is clear, and it eschews all plausible indications of paying landowners the accrued interest on funds deposited in the Court's registry.

Significantly, the language in Section 421(b)2 clearly indicates that the drafters of the statute anticipated the possibility of a delay between the time the funds to compensate property owners are deposited in the registry of the Court, and the time the same funds are actually disbursed to the property owners. This assertion is evident by the six percent (6%) per annum interest rate provision. It is equally obvious that when Section 421(b) was enacted, the Legislature was fully cognizant of and understood that funds held on deposit with the Court could be deposited in interest bearing accounts. Yet, in Section 421(a)(5), supra, the Territorial Legislature made a compelling and inescapable distinction between the interest accrued on funds deposited in the Court's Registry for just compensation, and the interest to be paid on the judgment awarded as just compensation to the property owners.

The above inescapable conclusions are buttressed by the plain meaning statutory language of Section 421 supra and its compelling legislative intent.

For example, it is axiomatic that any departure from the plain import of statutory terms is justified only where terminological ambiguity is apparent or where inherent contradictions exist, or perhaps, where the legislative history conclusively establishes that an oversight in draftsmanship has clearly occurred." Tracy Leigh Dev. Comp. v. Government, 11 V.I. 244, 250 (3rd Cir. 1974). This Court [198]*198finds that none of the foregoing circumstances exists to justify a departure from the clear language of the statute.

Equally important is the "plain meaning" concept of statutory construction espoused by treatises on statutory construction. "According to most expressions of the doctrine of literalism, courts are bound to give effect to the literal meaning [of a statute] without consulting other indicia of intent or meaning when the meaning of the statutory text itself is "plain" or "clear" and unambiguous." Sutherland, statutory construction, section 46.04 (5th Edition). This concept is amplified in Licata v. United States Postal Service, 33 F.3d 259 (3rd Cir. 1994) in which the Appellate court said that "when interpreting a statute, we look first to its plain meaning, and if the language is unambiguous, no further inquiry is necessary."

Similarly, it is likewise a long standing and entrenched rule of statutory construction that the interpretation of a statute begins with the language of the statute, Department of Public Welfare v. Davenport, 110 S. Ct. 2126, 495 U.S. 552, 109 L. Ed. 2d 588 (1990). See also Millard v. United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, 109 S. Ct. 1814, 490 U.S. 296 104 L. Ed. 2d 318 (1989). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has said that "it is axiomatic that statutory interpretation properly begins with the language of the statute itself, including all of its parts." Sacred Heart Medical Center v. Sullivan, 958 F.2d 537 (3rd Cir. 1992) quoting Velis v. Kardanis, 949 F.2d 78 (3rd Cir. 1991) Id.

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32 V.I. 194, 1995 WL 467702, 1995 V.I. LEXIS 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/government-of-the-virgin-islands-v-2569-us-acres-of-land-consisting-of-virginislands-1995.