Hatch 29, 2021¶
ST-2020-CV-00155¶
TAMARA CHARLES CLERK OF THE COURT¶
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS DISTRICT OF ST. & ST. JOHN¶
************* ******* ********¶
GHISLAINE MAXWELL,¶
CIVIL NO. ST-2020-CV-00155¶
Plaintiff,¶
v.¶
) ESTATE OF JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, DARREN) K. INDYICE, in his capacity as EXECUTOR OF ) THE ESTATE OF JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN, ) RICHARD D. KAHN, in his capacity as ) EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF JEFFREY ) E. EPSTEIN, and NES, LLC, a New York ) Limited Rabin() Company, ) ) Delcodams. ) )¶
BRIEF PURSUANT TO COURT’S MARCH 17, 2021 ORDER¶
COME NOW the Co-Executors of the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein (the “Estate”), DARREN K. INDYKE and RICHARD D. KAHN, and hereby submit this brief pursuant to the Court’s March 17, 2021 Order.¶
DISCUSSION¶
The Court’s March 17, 2021 Order requests that the Estate address whether this case should be: (i) designated as complex, and (ii) assigned to the same judge as Case No. ST-2020- CV-00014 to avoid delay or inconsistent rulings.¶
The Court should not designate this matter complex. A “complex” case “requires exceptional judicial management to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on the court or the litigants and to expedite the case, keep costs reasonable, and promote effective decision making by the court, the parties, and counsel.” V.I. R. Civ. P. 92(a). This is not such a case. Rather, it is a simple, one (1) issue dispute—whether Maxwell is entitled to indemnification of legal fees. Moreover, the Rule 92(c) factors do not weigh in favor of complex designation: the action¶
does not involve a large number of parties, claims, or claimants; the case does not require special expertise or case processing by the Complex Litigation Division judge or staff; and the case does not implicate the various potential efficiencies of coordinated proceedings.¶
Nor would coordination of this matter with Case No. ST-2020-CV-00014 (the “CICO action”) significantly advance judicial efficiency. As noted above, this matter is a simple one, based on a nine (9) page complaint asserting three (3) indemnification claims and seeking as its sole remedy indemnification of legal fees and costs. The pending motion to dismiss in this matter raises two (2) arguments. By contrast, the Government’s proposed Second Amended Complaint in the CICO action is seventy-six (76) pages long, asserts twenty-six (26) CICO claims, alleges a multi-decade long criminal enterprise, and seeks a laundry list of remedies, including forfeiture, divestiture, the dissolution of entities, injunctions, revocation of licenses, receivership, monetary penalties, and punitive damages. The Defendants’ motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint raises at least ten (10) separate legal issues, none of which overlap with the issues raised in the motion to dismiss in this matter. Given the distinct nature of the claims and legal issues presented in the two matters, there is little risk of inconsistent rulings should the cases remain assigned to different judges. Nor are there issues of delay in either matter that would be alleviated by coordination of both matters before a single judge.¶
CONCLUSION¶
For the reasons set forth above, the Court should not designate this matter complex nor assign the case to the same judge assigned to the CICO action.¶
Respectfully,¶
Dated: March 29, 2021 /s/ Kroblin KROBLIN, ESQ. SHARI N. D’ANDRADE, ESQ. MARJORIE WHALEN, ESQ. V.I. Bar Nos. .966 1 1221 & R2019 KELLERHALS KROBLIN PLLC Palms Professional Building 9053 Estate M, Suite 101 St. V.I. 00802 Telephone: (340) 779-2564 Facsimile: (888) 316-9269 Email: ckroblin@kellfer.com sdandrade@kellfer.com mwhalen®kellfer.com¶
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE¶
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on this 29th day of March 2021, I caused a true and exact copy of the foregoing Brief in Response to Court’s March 17, 2021 Order, which complies with the page or word limitation set forth in Rule 6-1(e), to be served via VIJEFS upon:¶
Kyle R. Waldner, • Quintairos, Prieto, & Boyer, P.A. 9300 S. Dadeland Blvd., 4’b Floor Miami, FL 33156 kwaldner®qpwblaw.com¶
Mel M. =, Esq. Assistant Attorney General Virgin Islands Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General 34-38 Kronprindsens Gade St. U.S. Virgin Islands 00802¶
// Kroblin¶