A federal court sitting in the United States Virgin Islands, in the process of partially granting a request for reconsideration asserted by a surety, reaffirmed aspects of the challenged ruling concerning the ability of a claimant to seek “consequential damages” from a performance bond surety – potentially beyond the penal sum of the bond.

The request for reconsideration sought a full dismissal of the consequential damages claims against surety. The federal court refused to dismiss, after conducting an assessment under Banks v. Int'l Rental & Leasing Corp., 55 V.I. 967 (2011), as to whether Virgin Islands courts have articulated an on-point rule, analyzing what the majority of other courts do, and then determining “which approach represents the soundest rule for the Virgin Islands.”