Case Caption: World Fresh Markets, LLC v. Josephat HenryCase Number: S. Ct. Civ. No. 2018-0058Date: 10/09/2019Author: Swan, Ive Arlington Citation: 2019 VI 30Summary: In a premises liability case, on the proprietor’s appeal from the Superior Court’s order denying its motion for judgment as a matter of law and a final judgment memorializing a 2015 jury award—plus statutory interest—both of which were entered on the docket 1,083 days later, the ruling and judgment are affirmed, notwithstanding the Superior Court’s failure to timely enter its judgment on the docket in accordance with the requirements of Rule 58(b) of the Virgin Islands Rules of Civil Procedure, which mandate that the judge “shall promptly sign the judgment” embodying the jury’s verdict and that the clerk “must promptly enter th[at] judgment” on the docket. While the proprietor raised certain arguments concerning the applicability of 11 V.I.C. § 951(a)(1) in the Superior Court, the arguments it presents on appeal relating to whether pre-judgment interest under this statute is applicable to a claim sounding in tort for personal injuries, and whether the plain language of the statute supports the availability of compounded interest, are legally distinct theories from the arguments it presented to the Superior Court. Accordingly, the proprietor’s arguments on appeal were not fairly presented to the Superior Court for resolution, and those arguments are properly deemed waived on appeal by operation of Rules 4(h) and 22(m) of the Virgin Islands Rules of Appellate Procedure; no exceptional circumstances exist that warrant their consideration for the first time on appeal, particularly given plaintiff’s prompt and vigorous assertion of its claim that the proprietor’s appellate arguments have been procedurally defaulted.Attachment: Open Document or Opinion