Case Caption: Sam's Food Distributors, Inc. and Sam's Management, Inc. v. NNA&O, LLC., A U.S. Virgin Islands Limited Liability CompanyCase Number: S. Ct. Civ. No. 2018-0048Date: 06/09/2020Author: Cabret, Maria M. Citation: 2020 VI 7Summary: In a dispute over the scope of an easement for ingress and egress to commercial property, the Superior Court’s findings of fact, conclusions of law, and accompanying injunction order are void with respect to an individual non-party and a Puerto Rico based corporation that has not conducted business in the U.S. Virgin Islands in years—because the court lacked personal jurisdiction over them. With respect to the remaining parties, applying the sliding scale of factors on a motion for preliminary and permanent injunction, the Superior Court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that plaintiff demonstrated actual success on the merits and would suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an injunction, that the balance of harms to parties favored issuance of the injunction, and that entering an injunction would serve the public interest. It also did not abuse its discretion in concluding that plaintiff is entitled to injunctive protection for its incidental right to stop, load, and unload commercial goods. However, the terms of the injunction order entered by the Superior Court are defective in both form and substance, overly broad and unnecessary to adequately protect the rights of the parties in this case, and substantially broader in scope than the relief sought in the complaint. The easement does not include the right to park vehicles on the subject lot except for loading and unloading commercial goods, and it was error to include three terms requiring the clearing of the lot and prohibiting the leasing or renting of the property. Any error in not considering defense expert testimony was harmless since the legal meaning of ingress and egress is properly determined as a matter of law according to general contract principles. The Superior Court’s June 22, 2018 injunction is vacated and this matter is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion