The Virgin Islands Supreme Court upholds arbitration award holding that the Magistrate’s Division has the power to decide a motion to compel arbitration and to stay proceedings, which is a non-dispositive motion, and that the Plaintiff/Appellant had waived any right to appeal the decision when the motion for reconsideration was filed out of time and the Plaintiff/Appellant did not contest the Magistrate’s finding that the defendant did not waive its right to arbitrate. The VI Supreme Court reiterated that a claimant may not voluntarily submit a claim to arbitration, await the outcome, and, if the decision is unfavorable, then challenge the authority of the arbitrators to act. The Court also took into consideration that arbitration provides a quick and inexpensive means to resolve claims and acknowledged the strong public policy favoring arbitration and the enforcement of arbitral awards.

Categories: Case Results