Case Caption: One St. Peter, LLC v. Virgin Islands Board of Land Use AppealsCase Number: S. Ct. Civ. No. 2015-0120Date: 08/28/2017Author: Hodge, Rhys S. Citation: Summary: Considering an appeal from a Superior Court order affirming the decision of the Board of Land Use Appeals that dismissed appellant’s petition as untimely, although 29 V.I.C. § 295(a) describes what an appellant must receive before appealing, i.e., “the order or ruling complained of,” it does not describe how the appellant must receive it. Given this ambiguity, the receipt requirement imposed by subsection (a) must be interpreted in a manner that is harmonious with the remainder of the statute. An interpretation that produces an absurd result by creating an unlimited period of time for appellants to challenge the orders or rulings issued by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources under the Building Code is rejected. Instead, the receipt requirement of subsection (a) of 29 V.I.C. § 295 means that an appellant receives “the order or ruling complained of” when he is chargeable with actual or constructive notice of that order or ruling. Under that interpretation, the appeal to the Board of Land Use Appeals in the present case was untimely because it was taken more than 30 days after the appellant had actual knowledge that Department of Planning and Natural Resources had granted a building permit for the construction of a zip line, which is “the order or ruling complained of” in the instant appeal. Accordingly, the Superior Court’s October 9, 2015 order affirming the decision of the Board of Land Use Appeals that dismissed appellant’s petition as untimely is affirmed.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion