SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVISION OF ST CROIX IN RE Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 Civil No SK 2023 CV 422 SUGAR ISLAND MASTER Cle No SX 2023 CV 414 Cm] No SX 2023 CV 423 ASSOCIATION INC D/B/A Civil No SX 2023 CV 416 Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 CARAMBOLA PROPERTY OWNERS Civil No sx 2023 CV 417 Civil No sx 2023 CV 428 ASSOCIATION S ACTIONS FOR DEBT LESS THAN 375 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 CITE AS 2024 VI SUPER 3
Appearances C Jacob Gower, Esq GOWER LEGAL LLC St Croix, U S Virgin Islands J Russell B Pate,Esq THE PATE LAW FIRM St Croix, U S Virgin Islands For Plamlgf
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
WILLOCKS, Administrative Judge
'1] l [HIS MATTER came before the Court on Plaintiff Sugar Island Master Association, Inc
d/b/a Carambola Property Owners Association’s (hereinafter “Plaintiff”) motions to reassign
mattels to the Magistrate Division in the above mentioned cases, filed on January 3, 2024
BACKGROUND
fi| 2 On December 5, 2023, Plaintitf filed a complaint against Defendant Curtis Eugene
Defendant Stephanie Deville Eugene (collectively, hereinafter Defendants”), and in rem Lot 48
48 River (hereinafter ‘Subject Property’) in an action for debt less than $75 000, Sugar [Aland
Mavter Assoczatzon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners A$$0610t10n v Eugene er a1 Civil
Case No SX 2023 CV 413 This matter was randomly assigned to the undersigned judge In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmtron Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon 3 Actions for Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413‘ Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414‘ Civil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416 Civil No 5X 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417 Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 (.V 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 2‘ Page 2 of 10
Subsequently, Plaintiff filed eleven more actions for debt less than $75,000 1 These eleven cases
were randomly assigned to the undersigned judge, Judge Brady and Magistrate Judge Brow Ross 3
1| 3 On January 3, 2023, Plaintiff filed an identical motion to reassign matters to the Magistrate
Division in each of the twelve cases In its motions, Plaintiff indicated that (i) “[Plaintiff] has filed
twelve actions for debt collection against Defendants who own property and are delinquent in their
dues payments,” which includes this instant matter 3 (Motion 1), (ii) “Each of the twelve actions
Saga; Island Master ASJOCIatIOH Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmnon v Meryl et a1 Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 414 Sugar Island Master Assocmllon Inc (M) a Carambola Property Owners Assocmuon v Gilles er a! Civil Case No 8X 2023 CV 416 Sugar Island Master Assoczauon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon v North Shore Partners et a1 Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 417 Sugar Island Master Association Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon v Crow Re holdings LLC et a! Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 418 Sugar Island Master Assocmtlon Inc (M) a Carambola Property Owners Assocmllon v Banter Fmanna! et 0/ Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 420 Sugar Island Master Assoomtlon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assoczattor: v Frey er a] Civil Case No 8X 2023 CV 422 Sugar Island Master Assocmnon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmuon v Allen et a! Civil Case No SX 202.) CV 423‘ Sugar Island Master Assocmtlon Inc (IV!) a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon v Desborne e! at Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 427 Sugar Island Master Association Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmllon v WIIItams e! a! Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 428. Sugar Island Master Assocmuon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon v Thomas et a! Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 429 and Sugar Island Master Assocmtlon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmllon v Lewzs et a] Civil Case No 8X 2023 CV 430 - 9ee Infra, footnote 3 ‘ Plaintiff included the following chart in its motion to identify all twelve cases Judge Yea; gas: Name Last Belance 3:52pm I Willocks 2023 413 Curtis Eugene $49 165 56 48 River 2 Ross 2023 414 Lincoln Meryl $44 674 09 473 River 3 Willocks 2023 416 Frederick Gilles $36 145 05 I9 River 4 Ross 2023 417 North Shore Partners $33 8] I 43 2| River 5 Brady 2023 418 Croix Re Holdings LLC $32 107 90 7 Prosperity 6 Willocks 2023 420 Bunter Financial $29 889 43 6 Prosperity 7 Ross 2023 422 Nehemiah Frey $27 037 69 40 River In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmtlon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assoczanon '5 Acttonsfor Debt Less Than $ 75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414 Civil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 4|6' Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417' Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 CiVil N0 8X 2023 CV 418 Civil N0 SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 202.) CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 3 Page 3 of 10
including this one were randomly assigned amongst the Superior Court judges (Id ); (iii)
‘[Plaintiff_| has separately given notice to the Clerk of Court that the twelve cases are related ”
(Id ) and (iv) [t]he first filed case (Eugene 8X 2023 CV 00413) was randomly assigned to
Judge Willocks, and consistent with the Standing Order, [Plaintiff] has asked that Clerk to reassign
the five matters assigned to Judge Ross Edwards and the three matters assigned to Judge Brady be
reassigned to Judge Willocks ” (Id , at 1 2 ) However, in its motion, Plaintiffultimately moved the
Court to reassign Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 and the other eleven related cases to the
Magistrate Division in the interest of “its just, speedy and inexpensive determination”4 because
this matter, like the eleven related ones, (i) ‘ seeks less than $75,000 in damages,” (ii) “[Plaintiff]
does not request a jury trial,” (iii) “the face of the complaint conspicuously notes that it regards a
debt less than $75,000 00,” (iv) “it is within the original jurisdiction of the Magistrate Division,”5
and (v) “[a]ssignment of this matter to the Magistrate Division will encourage efficient pretrial
management [because] [i]f all twelve related matters in the same hands the opening of master case
would be in order, and the Magistrate Division could coordinate hearings and discovery amongst
8 Brady 2023 423 Rogello Allen $25 297 6| 34 River 9 Ross 2023 427 Simpson Desbome $49 2| 1 79 27 & 55 River [0 Brady 2023 428 Cosmo Williams $14 35] 3| 7| River II Willocks 2023 429 Earl Thomas $9 846 17 69 River l2 Ross 2023 430 Logan Lewis $24 547 06 28 River (Motion 1 ) “ Plaintiffreferenced V l R CIV P I 5 Plaintiff referenced Title 4 V I C § 123(a)(7)( Each magistrate judge may hear all civil cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed $75,000 ”) In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmuon Inc (1/!) a Carambola Property Owners Assoczanon s Acnonsfor Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414 CiVil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416 Civil No 8X 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417' Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418' Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 V1 SUPER & Page 4 of 10
all the cases ”6 (Id , at 2) (emphasis omitted) Plaintiff also indicated in its motion that “it is filing
similar requests in each of the eleven related matters ” (Id )
‘4 As of the date of this Memorandum Opinion and Order, no response to Plaintiff’s motion
has been filed by any defendants This may be because the defendants have not been served with
a copy of the motion since the motion did not include a certificate of service” section
DISCUSSION
1 Related Cases
11 5 In Vanterpool v Gov’t of the VI , the Virgin Islands Supreme Court has pointed out that
“[u]nder Virgin Islands statutory law, it is the responsibility of the Presiding Judge of the Superior
Court to ‘divide the business and assign the cases among all the judges of the court in such manner
as will secure the prompt dispatch of the business of the court [and that] [n]o provision of the
Virgin Islands Code permits the Presiding Judge to delegate this statutory assignment power to a
different judge 63 V I 563 574 (V I 2015) (quoting Title 4 V I C § 72b(a)) but also
emphasized that “[i]n reaching this decision, we emphasize that the Presiding Judge may delegate
the enforcement of a case assignment policy to other individuals, such as by directing the Clerk's
Office to assign new cases at random, or pursuant to a predetermined rotation system[,]” 63 V I
at 574 n 4 The undersigned judge while acting in his former administrative capacity as the
Presiding Judge had delegated the enforcement of related cases assignment policy to the Clerk’s
6 Plaintiffreferenced Edwardsv Hess 011 Virgin Islands Corp 66 VI 218 226 (VI Super Ct 2017)( Openinga master case to coordinate some aspect of pre trial procedure in multiple cases is inherent within authority of courts to manage their cases and at least implied within the authority granted by Virgin Islands Rule of Civil Procedure 16(c) ”) In Re Sugar Island Master Assoczatlon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmtlon 5 Actionsfor Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414' Civi1 No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416‘Civi1No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417' Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil N0 SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 3 Page 5 of 10
Office by issuing a standing order on December 3, 2020 (hereinafter Standing Order”) regarding
related cases, which was subsequently adopted as Superior Court Rule 17 1 Superior Court Rule
17 1 provides in relevant part
Once a notification of related case is filed, the Clerk 5 Office shall assign (or reassign) the newer case to the same judicial officer assigned to the older case In the event of an objection, the judicial officer assigned to the older case shall decide whether the cases are in fact, related If the judicial officer determines the cases are not related, he shall return the newer case(s) to the Clerk's Office for reassignment to another judicial officer If the judicial officer determines that the cases are related, the Clerk's Office shall skip that judicial officer when assigning new cases at random in proportion to the number of cases deemed related
Super Ct R 17 1
1] 6 The plain language of Superior Court Rule 17 1 is unambiguous that as soon as Plaintiff
filed the notification that the subsequently filed eleven cases were related to Civil Case No SX
2023 CV 413, the Clerk s Office should have reassigned the newer cases to the undersigned judge,
the judicial officer assigned to the older case, without any action necessary by the Presiding Judge
See Super Ct R 17 1 ‘ The canons of construction in statutory interpretation apply equally to the
interpretation of court procedural rules,’ Whyte v Bockmo, 69 V I 749, 754 55 (V I 2018), and
“[t]he first step when interpreting a statute is to determine whether the language at issue has
a plain and unambiguous meaning Mtller v People ofthe I I 67 V I 827 844 (V I 2017) It is
well settled that when the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous no further interpretation
7 The Standing Order remained in effect until it was abrogated by the promulgation of Superior Court Rule 17 1, which took effect on June 1 2022 See In re Amendments No 2022 001 2022 V 1 Supreme LEXIS 8 at ‘11 (Mar 16 2022) In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmtzon Inc d/b a Carambo/a Property Owners Assocmnon s Acnonsfor Debt Lexis Than 375 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil N0 SX 2023 CV 414 Civil No SX 2023 CV 42.: Civil No SX 2023 CV 416 Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417 Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil N0 SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 1 Page 6 of 10
is required See Thomas v People ofthe VI 69 V I 913 925 (V I 2018) (noting that “because
‘the statutory language [of 14 VIC § 2101(a)] is plain and unambiguous, no further
interpretation is required”’); see also Codrmgton v People of the V I , 57 V I 176, 185 (2012)
(“Accordingly, when the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, a court does not
look beyond the language of the statute in interpreting the statute's meaning ’) The use of the
word “shall” in the first sentence of the third paragraph of Superior Court Rule 17 l to wit, “Once
a notification of related case is filed, the Clerk 3 Office shall assign (or reassign) the newer case to
the same judicial officer assigned to the older case ” imposes a clear requirement for the Clerk’s
Office to reassign the newer case to the same judicial officer assigned to the older case once a
notification of related case is filed without any action necessary by the Presiding Judge There is
nothing in the Standing Order or Superior Court Rule 17 1 to suggest that the reassignment of
related cases required any action necessary by the Presiding Judge As such, the Court will give
effect to the plain and unambiguous language of Superior Court Rule 17 1 and hold that Superior
Court Rule 17 1 requires the Clerk’s Office to reassign the newer case to the same judicial officer
assigned to the older case once a notification of related case is filed without any action necessary
by the Presiding Judge See In re L 0F 62 VI 655 661 (VI 2015) ( The first step when
interpreting a statute is to determine whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous
meaning ”) (internal quotation marks omitted) A review of the twelve cases’ dockets revealed that
Plaintiff did indeed notify the Clerk’s Office that these twelve cases are related 8 This means that,
3 A notice of related cases was filed Civil Case No SK 2023 CV 417 Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 418, Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil Case No SK 2023 CV 423 Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil Case No SX 2023 In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmuon Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assoczauon 5 Actionsfor Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413‘ CiVil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414 Civil No SK 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416 Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417 Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No 8X 2023 CV 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 ‘1’ Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER Page 7 of 10
pursuant to Superior Court Rule 17 1, Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 the first case filed out
of the twelve related cases and the subsequent eleven related cases should already be reassigned
to the undersigned judge (if the related case was not already assigned to the undersigned judge),
which further means that Plaintiff’s motions to reassign matters to the Magistrate Division in each
of the twelve related cases are all before the undersignedjudge However, a review of these twelve
related cases revealed that, as of the date of this Memorandum Opinion and Order, the Clerk’s
Office has not yet complied with Superior Court Rule 17 1 since the Clerk’s Office has not yet
completed the reassignment of the newer cases to the undersigned judge As such, the Court will
order the Clerk’s Office to comply with Superior Court Rule 17 1 by reassigning the eleven related
cases filed subsequent to Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 to the undersigned judge, the judicial
officer assigned to Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 the first case filed out of the twelve related
cases To be clear, the undersigned judge who is no longer acting in the administrative capacity
as the Presiding Judge is not usurping the current Presiding Judge’s exclusive statutory authority
to ‘ divide the business and assign the cases,” see Vanterpool, 63 V I at 574, but simply ordering
the Clerk’s Office to perform its duty to enforce the related cases assignment policy under Superior
Court Rule 17 1 See In re Procedure for the Reasszgnment ofCases Followmg Judicial Recusal
0r Dzsqualzficatzon 2020 VI LEXIS 73 at *2 4 (VI Super Ct Nov 13 2020) (The Presiding
Judge issued a standing order regarding the case reassignment policy where, after a judicial officer
enters an order of disqualification or recusal, the Clerk's Office reassigns the case to the nextjudge
CV 428 and Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 430 The notice clearly identified the twelve cases that Plaintiff deemed related In Re Sugar Island Master Association Inc d/b a Carambola Property Owners Assocmnon 3 Actionsfor Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 4l3 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No 8X 2023 CV 4I4 Civil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416‘ Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417' Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418' Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No 8X 2023 CV 420' Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 3 Page 8 of 10
in rotation without any action necessary by the Presiding Judge ) 9 The Court will also order
Plaintiff to file proofs of service showing that each of the defendants in the twelve related cases
were served with a copy of the notice of related cases in compliance with Superior Court Rule
17 llo so that the defendants can file objections, if any
° The standing order provides in relevant part NOW, THEREFORE pursuant to the authority confined by Title 4 Section 72b(a) of the Virgin Islands Code IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the following duties of,udicial officers are PRESCRIBED and the following case reassignment policy is ADOPTED to balance the case loads of the judicial officers following disqualification or recusal Afier ajudicial officer enters an order of disqualification or recusal, the Clerk’s Office shall reassign the case to the next judge in rotation as if it were a new case Thereafter the Clerk's Office shall skip the receiving judicial officer when assigning a new case of the same type i e , CV, DV, RV, CR, PB etc Only new cases may be assigned to the recusing judicial officer and recusing judicial officers shall receive one case for each case they recuse or are disqualified from For cases that must be heard expeditiously, the Clerk's Office may defer assigning a new case to the recusing judicial officer until the next calendar to avoid case congestion or delay Each judicial officer shall issue a standing order of recusal which shall be kept on file in the Clerk 5 Office as to attorneys and parties for whom that judicial officer is disqualified from presiding over or elects to voluntarily recuse New judicial officers shall provide their Standing Order of Recusal to the Clerk 5 Office no later than thirty (30) days after taking the oath of [‘4] office Should a case be assigned at random to a judicial ofi'icer who is recused or disqualified based on her or his standing order the Clerks Office shall immediately reassign the case to another judicial officer in rotation without further order of the court Reassignment as a result of a standing order of recusal shall not trigger the case reassignment procedure adopted above except as to newly appointed or confirmed judicial officers Judicial officers shall review their standing orders of recusal annually and no later than December 15th of each year either affirm that there are no changes to the list or issue a revised standing order In re Procedure for the Reasszgnment of Cases Followmg JudICIal Recusal 0r Disqualification 2020 V l LEXIS 73 at *2 4 ‘0 Superior Court Rule 17 1 provides in relevant part Civil cases are deemed related when two or more lawsuits (1) concern the same property (real or personal), or (2) involve the same or similar claim(s) between one or more of the same parties (or their successors in interest) that arises out of the same event, transaction or contract Civil cases are also deemed related if a successive lawsuit is filed following the dismissal of an earlier lawsuit between one or more of the same parties When a civil case is filed, the plaintiff petitioner, or his attemey, shall file a notice, contemporaneously with the complaint or petition identifying by caption and number, each related case if any pending in the Superior Court If no related cases are pending a notice should not be filed The notice must be served on every defendant/respondent when serving summons and a copy of the complaint Each defendant/respondent, or his attorney shall serve and file a notice, contemporaneously with his first responsive pleading, objecting to or concurring with the related case designation Failure to serve and file a notice will be construed as consent to the related case designation In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmtton Inc d/b/a Carambola Property Owners Assoczanon 5 Actionsfor Debt Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 4l3 Civil No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414' Civil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416‘ Civil N0 5X 2023 CV 427 Civil No SX 2023 CV 417 Civil No SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 418 Civil No SX 2023 CV-429 Civil No SK 2023 CV 420' Civil No SK 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 VI SUPER 3! Page 9 of 10
2 Plaintiff’s Motions to Reassign All Twelve Related Matters to the Magistrate Division
1] 7 At this time, given the strain on Magistrate Division 3 already limited judicial resources,
ever increasing caseload, and the existing backlogs, the Court believes that by keeping these twelve
related cases in the Civil Division rather than reassigning to the Magistrate Division will “secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding” as
mandated by Rule 1 of the Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure '1 V I R CIV P 1 As such,
the Court will deny Plaintiff’s motions to reassign this matter to the Magistrate Division in the
above mentioned cases P Given that there is no indication that the defendants were served with a
copy of Plaintiff's motion to reassign matter to the Magistrate Division, the Court will also order
Plaintiff to file proofs of service showing that each of the defendants in the twelve related cases
were served with a copy of its motion and a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order ‘3
Attorneys and self represented parties shall immediately notify the Clerk's Office, in writing, anytime they become aware of the existence of a related case Objections should be served and filed within fourteen (14) days thereafter Super Ct R 17 l '1 The Civil Division, like the Magistrate Division, can similarly encourage efficient pretrial management for all twelve related cases by coordinated hearings, scheduling orders, etc , especially since they will all be assigned to the undersigned judge ‘7 The Court finds that it is appropriate to rule on Plaintiff‘s motions without a response from the defendant See V I R ClV P 6 l(f)(6) ( Nothing herein shall prohibit the court from ruling without a response or reply when deemed appropriate ) ‘3 None of the defendants have appeared in the twelve related cases, which may be because that they have not been served with the summons and complaint At this time the Court does not have the defendants information to serve this Memorandum Opinion and Order and thus will order Plaintiff to do so instead In Re Sugar Island Master Assocmtzon Inc d/b/a Carambola Properly Owners Assoczanon s Actionsfor Deb! Less Than $75 000 Civil No SX 2023 CV 413 CW" No SX 2023 CV 422 Civil No SX 2023 CV 414' Civil No SX 2023 CV 423 Civil No SX 2023 CV 416‘ Civil No SX 2023 CV 427 CiViI No SX 2023 CV 417 Civil N0 SX 2023 CV 428 Civil No SX 2023 CV 4l8 Civil No SX 2023 CV 429 Civil No SX 2023 CV 420 Civil No SX 2023 CV 430 Memorandum Opinion and Order 2024 V1 SUPER : k Page 10 of IO
CONCLUSION
1] 8 Based on the foregoing it is hereby
ORDERED that the Clerk 3 Office shall COMPLY with Superior Court Rule 17 1 by
REASSIGNING the eleven related cases filed subsequent to Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 to
the undersigned judge, the judicial officer assigned to Civil Case No SX 2023 CV 413 the first
case filed out of the twelve related cases It is further
ORDERED that Plaintiff‘s motions to reassign matters to the Magistrate Division in the
above mentioned cases filed on January 3, 2024, are DENIED And it is further
ORDERED that, within sixty (60) days from the date of entry of this Memorandum
Opinion and Order Plaintiff shall FILE PROOFS OF SERVICE showing that each of the
defendants in the twelve related cases were served with (i) a copy of the notice of related cases in
compliance with Superior Court Rule 17 1, (ii) a copy of Plaintiff’s motion to reassign matter to
the Magistrate Division, and (iii) a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order 6% DONE and so ORDERED thus '2 day of January 2024
ATTEST M&A Tamara Charles HAROLD W L WILLOCKS Clerk of the Court Administrative Judge of the Superior Court
By. %___ 7W ‘Court Clerk Supemsor
Dated §(c405é0d’ #4— IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS District of St. Croix
Sugar Island Master Assoc., Inc, d/b/a Case Number: SX-2023-CV-00413; Carambola Property Owners Assoc., 414;416;417;418;420;422;423;427;428; Plaintiff 429;430 v. Action: Debt
Curtis Eugene et al, Defendant.
NOTICE of ENTRY of Memorandum Opinion and Order To J. Russell B. Pate, Charle C. Jacobs Gower, Esq.
Please take notice that on January 26, 2024 a(n) Memorandum Opinion and Order dated January 26, 2024 was/were entered by the Clerk in the above-titled matter.
Dated January 26, 2024 Tamara Charles Clerk of the Court By:
Janeen Maranda Court Clerk II