Penn v. Mosley

67 V.I. 879
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedAugust 11, 2017
DocketS. Ct. Civil No. 2016-0061
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 67 V.I. 879 (Penn v. Mosley) 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
Penn v. Mosley, 67 V.I. 879 (virginislands 2017).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

(August 11, 2017)

Swan, Associate Justice.

Appellant, Renaldo Penn, requests that we reverse an order of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands (“Appellate Division”) affirming a judgment of the Magistrate Division of the Superior Court (“Magistrate Division”) that found Penn liable to Appellee, Lisa Mosley, in the amount of $10,000 plus court costs. Because the findings of fact support the judgment of the Magistrate Division, we conclude that the Appellate Division correctly affirmed the judgment of the Magistrate Division, and we likewise affirm the September 8, 2016 order of the Appellate Division.

[883]*883I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On January 28, 2015, Mosley filed a Small Claims case in the Magistrate Division of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, case number ST-15-SM-23. In the complaint, Mosley asserted a claim against Penn for $10,000. Mosley averred that she had begun working for Penn on January 23, 2013, when she received a deposit of $500 in order for her to design his business logo and website content and to take product photographs. At that time, Mosley was living in New York, and, according to Mosley, Penn requested that she join him as a partner in a business venture that would be called Rudy’s Delight. Mosley demanded, and Penn agreed to 1) provide her an airline ticket for travel from New York to St. Thomas; 2) Mosley’s “own personal SUV”; 3) office space and housing in his two-bedroom home; 4) cook daily, with Mosley assisting by providing funds for the purchase of food; and 5) convert the business into an appropriate business organization.

Mosley further alleged that she had provided the services as agreed, but Penn had failed to provide the promised SUV. In December of 2014, she and Penn then agreed that Penn would pay her $1,000 monthly in lieu of providing the vehicle. As their business relationship began to deteriorate, Penn became violent with Mosley. Therefore, Mosley asked Penn to execute a “Roles, Responsibilities and Agreement” on January 9, 2015, memorializing their prior oral contract. She admitted that she had taken $1,440 from the business bank account as of the filing of the Small Claims complaint.

Penn filed a counterclaim on February 24, 2015, in which he asserted that Mosley was his ex-girlfriend with whom he had been living, and she had taken several of Penn’s belongings and paraphernalia when she vacated their apartment. These belongings included Penn’s passport, birth certificate, the certificate of title to his vehicle, his business records necessary for him to prepare his 2014 income tax return, and other business files in addition to a router, chest freezer, scanner/copier, a blender, and a set of keys to his vehicle, apartment, and mailbox. In his answer, Penn counterclaimed for $10,000.

The Magistrate Division held a Small Claims hearing on April 14, 2015. Mosley testified that she and Penn began communicating via email and social media in 2012 because Penn wanted to start his own business and needed assistance with branding and marketing. Upon receipt of a [884]*884$500 payment, she began work for Penn while she was in New York. The parties negotiated for a year, and after a year of online interactions, Mosley agreed to return to St. Thomas to be business partners with Penn and to create a brand for the business. As a condition of Mosley’s return to St. Thomas, Penn agreed to purchase Mosley her own vehicle — an SUV — in lieu of monetary compensation for her work in developing Penn’s business. When Mosley arrived at the St. Thomas airport on April 4, 2013, however, Penn transported her in a truck. When Mosley asked about her SUV, Penn informed her that he could not afford another car and that the truck was too good a deal to pass up. Nevertheless, Mosley began work establishing Penn’s business because Penn promised that he would purchase the SUV for her once the business began flourishing. Importantly, Penn performed all other conditions of their agreement.

Operations commenced with Penn heading the production and Mosley dealing primarily with administrative needs. On January 9, 2015, Mosley and Penn executed an agreement outlining their business arrangement. Mosley provided a copy of this agreement to the court. Penn was asked if he had any objection to its admission in evidence. He objected, asserting that he did not remember signing the agreement, but he admitted that the signature on the document “surely looks like my signature.” Over his objection, the trial court admitted the exhibit. The parties’ agreement was one page and stated that the purpose of the agreement was to acknowledge the business relationship between the parties in the future. The agreement further stated the following:

1. Penn would tender to Mosley $125 weekly in order that she could continue paying his monthly home and business expenses;
2. Penn acknowledged that Mosley was a signatory on both his business and personal accounts in order to handle the administrative necessities of the business and his personal expenses;
3. Penn agreed to pay Mosley $1,000 monthly commencing in December 2014 in order to allow her to purchase the vehicle he had promised;
4. Penn acknowledge[d] that, despite Mosley’s name not being listed on any bank accounts or business documents, she was a 50% owner of the business;
[885]*8855. Penn acknowledged that, in April 2013, he had promised to purchase a vehicle for Mosley titled in her name and that he later promised to purchase that same vehicle in 2015; and
6. Penn promised to pay Mosley a total of $12,000, which included the value of the vehicle Penn had failed to purchase for Mosley.

Mosley also provided a copy of the “Addendum to Deposit Accounts Agreement” to verify that she was a signatory on the business’s bank account. In proving her damages, Mosley stated that she was seeking $10,000 for the work she had done for the business or, alternatively, the vehicle Penn promised but never delivered. Mosley provided a pay scale for administrative assistants to support her claim for her hourly rate, which was admitted without objection by Penn. Penn objected to Exhibit 4, a statement of work completed by Mosley, contending that he did not believe it reflected the correct dates. The court admitted the document. Mosley billed the business at $10.36 an hour for five hours a day working five days a week. From April 2013 to January of 2014, Mosley’s compensation for work performed amounted to $9,945.60. She explained that she continued to do business with Penn despite his failure to provide the vehicle as promised because he assured her it would be provided once the business was up and running. She ceased doing business with Penn in June of 2015. Mosley admitted to receiving $1,720 in emolument.

Cleve Stridiron testified that he had a phone conversation with Penn in January of 2015 in which Penn admitted that he owed Mosley a vehicle as compensation for her contribution to the business. Stridiron also testified that Mosley and Penn were roommates with Penn occupying the bedroom, and Mosley having a bed in the living room where she slept.

Penn then presented his case. Penn testified that he and Mosley met via social media in 2012, and they began communicating regularly. This contact led to discussion of Mosley returning to St. Thomas.

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67 V.I. 879, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/penn-v-mosley-virginislands-2017.