Jefferson v. Bay Isles Associates L.L.L.P.

59 V.I. 31, 2011 WL 3853332, 2011 V.I. LEXIS 7
CourtSuperior Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedFebruary 1, 2011
DocketCivil No. ST-09-CV-186
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 59 V.I. 31 (Jefferson v. Bay Isles Associates L.L.L.P.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior 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
Jefferson v. Bay Isles Associates L.L.L.P., 59 V.I. 31, 2011 WL 3853332, 2011 V.I. LEXIS 7 (visuper 2011).

Opinion

HOLLAR, Administrative Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(February 1, 2011)

I. INTRODUCTION

On June 19, 2009, Bay Isles Associates, LLP and David Band filed a motion to dismiss this action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiff [37]*37Brett Jefferson filed an opposition on August 6, 2009, requesting the Court to deny Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On April 19, 2009, Plaintiff Brett Jefferson brought an action against the Defendants Bay Isles, Associates, L.L.L.P. (“Bay Isles” or “Seller”), Breckinridge Construction Virgin Islands Inc. (“Breckinridge” or “Builder”), David Band, Kelly Frye, Bill Terry, Abel, Band, Russell, Collier, Pitchford, & Gordon, Charter (“Able Band” or “Escort agent”)1 and Kane Furniture Corporation (“Kane Furniture”) for breach of contract, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment.

In his complaint, Plaintiff Jefferson alleges that on December 28, 2004, he signed a sales and purchase agreement (“Purchase Agreement” or “SPA”) with Defendants Bay Isles and Abel Band to purchase a condominium unit, later designated as unit B-203 (“the Unit”), in the Grand Bay Resort (“Resort”) located in Cruz Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. According to the parties’ agreement, Plaintiff would pay an earnest money deposit to an escrow agent, with the balance of the purchase price paid at closing. In exchange for the purchase price, Bay Isles would deliver a Special Warranty Deed. Defendant David Band signed the agreement on behalf of Bay Isles (‘the seller’), while Kathryn Car signed on behalf of Abel Band, the escrow agent.

During the signing of the agreement, Plaintiff Jefferson alleges that Defendants David Band and Kelly Frye on behalf of Breckinridge, (‘the builder’), gave him marketing materials and made several representations to him regarding the resort’s features, programs and amenities. It was further explained to Plaintiff that in order to participate in the resort’s on-site rental program, he would have to furnish his Unit with a “turn key” furniture package from Kane Furniture, the furniture provider for the resort project. In June 2006, Plaintiff purchased the “turn key” furniture package from Kane Furniture.

On June 11, 2007, Plaintiff signed the Rental Management Pool Agreement after receiving correspondence from Defendants Bay Isles, [38]*38Breckinridge, and Able Band regarding the extension of the resort’s completion date, terms of the on-site rental management program (“Rental Management Pool Agreement”)2 and the estimated rental rates for his condominium unit under the on-site rental program.

In late 2007, a group of owners of units in the Grand Bay Resort brought a civil action against Defendant Bay Isles. Plaintiff did not join in this action but instead signed an affidavit in support of Bay Isles stating he was unaware of any construction problems and had no concerns about the future rentals and the construction quality of the condominium. Plaintiff did however express concern that the pending litigation would delay the closing and use of his Unit. Defendant Bay Isles later settled with the protesting owners’ group but pursuant to their settlement agreement, the owners’ group would not join Bay Isles’ Rental Management Pool Agreement. This lack of participation by fellow owners was unbeknownst to Plaintiff Jefferson.

In March 2008, Plaintiff Jefferson received an e-mail from Defendant Breckinridge (“the builder”) regarding yet another extension of the Resort’s completion date. According to the e-mail, construction on units in Building B would be completed by the summer of 2008; however, the reception building and amenities would not be completed until January 2009. Also, during this time Plaintiff’s furniture was selected by Defendant Bill Terry, a partner of Breckinridge, and delivered by Defendant Kane Furniture.

In late November 2008, Plaintiff Jefferson received a notice from Defendant Bay Isles, requiring Jefferson to close on the condominium unit within 10 days. On December 1, 2008, Plaintiff’s attorney sent two letters to Defendant Bay Isles explaining that pursuant to the purchase agreement Plaintiff was reserving his rights to undertake a unit inspection and complete a punch list after the closing of the Unit. Furthermore, the letter explained that Defendant Bay Isles would be required to repair all found defects of the Unit within 20 days of delivery of the punch list. [39]*39Defendant Bay Isles never responded to Plaintiffs request to modify the agreement to allow Plaintiff to perform a post-closing inspection.3

On December 2, 2008, Plaintiff Jefferson closed on the Unit. Three days later, Plaintiff conducted an inspection of the condominium Unit and the resort. According to Plaintiff, the construction material used on the unit and the building was of “inferior quality” and less than what was represented to him at the execution of the Purchase Agreement on December 28, 2004. Plaintiff further alleges that the unit’s furniture was missing, damaged, or of “poor quality,” plus the resort amenities’ building was not completed. On the same day, Plaintiff also learned for the first time that the Rental Management Pool Agreement was obsolete due to lack of participation by owners. Without Plaintiff’s knowledge, many Grand Bay Resort owners elected not to participate in the rental program, which was an option under the 2007 lawsuit settlement agreement.

On December 9,2008, a letter was sent to Bay Isles expressing concern and dissatisfaction regarding the furniture and demanding a refund of the amount paid by Plaintiff for the furniture. On the following day, Plaintiff Jefferson received an e-mail from Defendant Bill Terry, on behalf Breckinridge. Defendant Terry explained that he was informed by David Band that Bay Isles would not make any changes to Plaintiff’s Unit as requested. As a result, items on Plaintiff’s punch list went ignored. Moreover, no refund was made from Bay Isles and/or Kanes Furniture for the missing, damaged, and poor quality furnishings.

On April 19, 2009, Plaintiff filed a complaint against the Defendants. Defendants Bill Terry and Kelly Frye filed an answer on June 1, 2009. Defendants Bay Isles and David Band filed a Motion to Dismiss, in lieu of an answer, on June 19, 2009. Plaintiff filed an opposition to the motion to dismiss on August 6, 2009. Defendants’ reply was filed on September 8, 2009.

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Amotion to dismiss a civil complaint is governed by FED. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) and 12(6)(b). Rule 8 requires that a complaint must be “a short and plain statement of the claims showing the pleader is entitled to relief.” [40]*40Fed. R. Civ. R 8(a)(2). If a complaint fails to meet these requirements, Rule 12 allows a court to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. R 12(b)(6). When ruling on a defendant’s motion to dismiss, a court must utilize a “plausibility” standard, which requires a determination of whether a complaint has “enough facts to state a claim of relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544

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Bluebook (online)
59 V.I. 31, 2011 WL 3853332, 2011 V.I. LEXIS 7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jefferson-v-bay-isles-associates-lllp-visuper-2011.