Pollara v. Chateau St. Croix, LLC

58 V.I. 455, 2013 WL 2948081, 2013 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 22
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedJune 14, 2013
DocketS. Ct. Civ. No. 2010-0026
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 58 V.I. 455 (Pollara v. Chateau St. Croix, LLC) 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
Pollara v. Chateau St. Croix, LLC, 58 V.I. 455, 2013 WL 2948081, 2013 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 22 (virginislands 2013).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

(June 14, 2013)

SWAN, Associate Justice.

Appellant Frank C. Pollara urges this Court to reverse the trial court’s dismissal of his Complaint against the Appellee, Chateau St. Croix, LLC (“Chateau”), and to reverse the trial court’s grant of summary judgment on Chateau’s counterclaim. First, Pollara argues that the trial court erred in its application of law when it dismissed his Complaint with prejudice for failure to prosecute and for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Second, he argues that the trial court erred as a matter of law in granting summary judgment on Chateau’s counterclaim, awarding Chateau $100,000.00 in damages upon a finding that Pollara breached a contract for sale of property. Pollara also argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to reconsider these decisions.

We conclude that the trial court abused its discretion when it imposed the extreme sanction of dismissing Pollara’s Complaint with prejudice for failure to prosecute. Upon examination of the allegations and applicable pleading standards, we also conclude that the trial court erred in finding that the Complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Additionally, we conclude that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment and awarding damages to Chateau because the trial record presents genuine issues of material fact as to one or more elements of its counterclaim. Finally, we conclude that the trial court abused its discretion in failing to reconsider its orders dismissing the Complaint and granting summary judgment. Therefore, we reverse the decisions of the trial court and remand the case to the trial court to conduct proceedings consistent with our Opinion.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On March 1, 2006, Pollara entered into a contract to purchase from Chateau the property known as Chateau St. Croix, which is the St. Croix-By-The-Sea Hotel (“the property”). (J.A. at 84.) The purchase price [459]*459for the property was $2,000,000.00. (Id.) The details of the purchase price were outlined in the terms of the contract, which includes the following provisions:

DEPOSIT: Buyer [will] make an earnest money deposit with Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation, 14802 North Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa, FL 33618, a sum of One Hundred Thousand and no/100 dollars ($100,000.00) within twenty-four (24) hours of the effective dates. The earnest money deposit will be credited against the sales price of $2,000,000.00.
DOWNPAYMENT: Buyer gives $ 1,000,000.00 as a down payment of which $ 100,000.00 earnest money deposit will be credited. Balance of $900,000.00 down payment will be paid at closing by cashier’s check or certified funds acceptable to Seller. The balance of $1,000,000.00 will be financed by Seller.

(J.A. at 84.) The sale was scheduled to close on March 31, 2006. (Id.) On March 6, 2006, five days after the contract was executed, Charles Banacos (“Banacos”)1 forwarded a $100,000.00 check to Lawyer’s Title Insurance Corporation (“LTIC”), which represented the earnest money deposit required under the contract. (J.A. at 95.) The check was issued by Jetstream Finance Corporation (“Jetstream”) and Banacos signed the check as a director of Jetstream.2 (Id.)

[460]*460On March 30, 2006, BRAM Realty IV, LLC (“BRAM”), Pollara’s lender, wire transferred $1,400,000.00 to LTIC to be held in escrow in preparation for the closing that was to occur the following day. (J.A. at 413.) BRAM and LTIC agreed that LTIC was not to release the funds from escrow except upon further written instructions from BRAM. Furthermore, LTIC was to return the funds to BRAM immediately upon BRAM’s written request. (J.A. at 397.) The parties, Pollara and Chateau, did not close on March 31, 2006 as required by the terms of the contract. Pollara alleges that he attended the closing, but Chateau’s representatives did not appear. (J.A. at 381.)

On April 4, 2006, LTIC wrote Chateau, informing Chateau that the $100,000.00 check which was issued by Banacos was returned, labeled as “non-sufficient funds.” (J.A. at 411.) On the same day, BRAM transferred an additional $100,000.00 to LTIC to be held in escrow. (J.A. at 418.) The additional $100,000.00 that was transferred to LTIC was not connected to the earnest money down payment that the Buyer was to deposit with LTIC by the Buyer as required by the terms of the contract. (J.A. at 382, 418.) Furthermore, according to BRAM, no portion of the total $1,500,000.00 was ever subject to be released to the Seller in the event of the Buyer’s breach of the contract by the Buyer. (J.A. at 97.)

On April 6, 2006, both parties signed an addendum to the original contract, titled Addendum #2, which included several amendments. Pollara3 asserted that prior to signing the áddendum, he was not aware that the check Banacos issued on March 6, 2006, was returned for non-sufficient funds. (J.A. at 382.) Pollara further asserted that during the negotiation of the addendum Chateau did not inform him that the check was indeed returned for non-sufficient funds. (Id.) Nevertheless, Banacos forwarded another check to LTIC for the $100,000.00 earnest money deposit. In an April 19, 2006 correspondence, LTIC maintained that this second earnest money deposit check had also been returned for “non-sufficient funds.” (J.A. at 94.) This addendum, which was mutually agreed to and executed by Pollara and Chateau, provided in pertinent part:

In consideration of the Buyer having placed $1,500,000 in escrow, Seller will extend the closing of the transaction for up to twenty-one (21) days beyond the agreed deadline while Mr. Frank Pollara, as well [461]*461as any assigns agreed to by the Seller, arranges for an additional $500,000 to pay Seller and will pay the entire $2,000,000 agreed purchase price plus costs in cash at closing.
Once the Buyer has obtained sufficient funds to close as agreed and notifies Seller, the time to close is also extended, as needed, to prepare any legal documents, clear title, [and] complete all close and title commitment issues. Parties will move to close as soon as possible.

(J.A. at 89.) This addendum did not include a provision concerning the $100,000.00 earnest money deposit that was contained in the original contract. (Id) Therefore, a pivotal issue is whether the parties agreed that the $1,500,000.00 to be placed in escrow superseded the $100,000.00 earnest money deposit.

On April 20, 2006, at the end of the twenty-one day extension period referenced in Addendum #2, Pollara alleges that he appeared for closing but representatives from Chateau again failed to appear. (J.A. at 387.) Pollara also alleges that he called Attorney Kevin Rames (“Attorney Rames”), attorney for Chateau, and Rames said that Chateau “was not ready to close because they were waiting for documents.” (Id.) On April 24, 2006, Chateau drafted another addendum to the contract titled Addendum #3. (J.A. at 583.) Addendum #3 extended the closing date to May 20, 2006, or sooner. (Id.) This addendum also provided:

A second extension of time is hereby granted to Frank C. Pollara (Buyer) by Chateau St.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Clark v. Fidelity And Guaranty Insurance Underwriters d/b/a Travelers Opinion
2025 V.I. 15 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2025)
Mosler v. Gerace
Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2024
Sansara A. Cannon v. Fulcrum Construction, LLC.
Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2023
Ferrante v. Westin St. John Hotel Co.
E.D. North Carolina, 2020
Greene v. Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority
67 V.I. 727 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Mills-Williams v. Mapp
67 V.I. 574 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Gerald v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
67 V.I. 441 (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Government of the United States Virgin Islands v. Takata Corp.
67 V.I. 316 (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Phillip v. Marsh-Monsanto
66 V.I. 612 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2017)
Howell v. United States Virgin Islands Police Department
67 V.I. 149 (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2016)
Isaac v. Guardian Insurance Co.
65 V.I. 137 (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2016)
Merchants Commercial Bank v. Oceanside Village, Inc.
64 V.I. 3 (Superior Court of The Virgin Islands, 2015)
Fleming v. Cruz
62 V.I. 702 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2015)
Construction Technicians v. Zurich American Insurance
61 V.I. 153 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2014)
Walters v. Walters
60 V.I. 768 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2014)
Thomas v. Virgin Islands Board of Land Use Appeals
60 V.I. 579 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2014)
Joseph v. Inter-Ocean Insurance Agency, Inc.
59 V.I. 820 (Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
58 V.I. 455, 2013 WL 2948081, 2013 V.I. Supreme LEXIS 22, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pollara-v-chateau-st-croix-llc-virginislands-2013.