Case Caption: Nandi Sekou, Martial Webster, and Terrence Joseph, as members of the Virgin Islands Board of Education, on their own behalf and on behalf of the Virgin Islands Board of Education v. Mary Moorhead, Judy Gomez, and Jennifer Jones, Esq.Case Number: S. Ct. Civ. No. 2018-0011Date: 04/24/2020Author: Hodge, Rhys S. Citation: 2020 VI 4Summary: In a complaint by three members of the Board of Education – purportedly also on behalf of the Board itself – alleging failure to timely call a meeting, seeking a temporary restraining order, and contesting representation of two board members by the office of the Attorney General, although the Superior Court ordinarily should hold an evidentiary hearing when considering disqualification of counsel, it need not do so if (as here) there is no colorable factual basis for the claim. Title 3 V.I.C. § 114(a)(6) authorizes the Attorney General to represent the executive branch of Government, and all departments, boards, commissions, agencies, instrumentalities or officers thereof. Thus there was no error in denying the motion to disqualify, and converting a hearing on the motion to oral arguments was harmless. In the present case it is undisputed that no majority of the Board has authorized these three plaintiffs’ lawsuit, thus the Superior Court committed no error in holding that they lacked the authority or standing to bring Counts II and III on behalf of the Board. Similarly, the Superior Court committed no error when it held that they could not bring Count III even in their personal capacities. It is—at best—questionable whether these plaintiffs were prevailing parties in prior litigation dismissed as moot, and the proper mechanism to seek reimbursement for costs and attorneys’ fees was not a separate lawsuit, but a timely-filed motion in the prior action. The Superior Court committed no error in granting summary judgment to the defendants on Counts II and III and dismissing Count I as moot. Its judgment dismissing all claims in this action is affirmed.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion