EPSTEIN
page 5 / 115 . OCR, unverified
of
To:
ORDER
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- -------
John-Russell B. Pate,
Linda Jill Singer,
Carol Laura Thomas-Jacobs,
Ariel M. Smith
Gordon C. Rhea,
Christopher A. Kroblin,
William L. Blum,
Marjorie Beth Whalen
Andrew Heymann,
Shari Natalya D'Andrade,
Sean Foster, Esq.
Robert Glassman, Esq.
John H. Benham, Esq.
Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine, Esq.
Douglas B. Chanco, Esq.
John K. Dema, Esq.
Kevin F. D'Amour, Esq.
Melody D. Westfall, Esq.
A. Jeffrey Weiss, Esq.
Richard Bourne-Vanneck, Esq.
Denise N. George, Esq.
Gaylin Vogel, Esq.
Kevin Boyle, Esq.
Please take notice that on March 12, 2021
a(n)
ORDER
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- --- -------
date d
March 12, 2021
was/were entered
by the Clerk in the above-titled matter.
Dated: March 12, 2021
Tamara Charles
By:
Clerk of the Court
Cheryl Parris
Court Clerk m
==================== END OF Court Records__Matter of the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, Deceased, No. ST-21-RV-00005 (V.I. Super. Ct. 2021)__2021.03.17 Initiating Document - Notice of Appeal.txt ====================
==================== DOCUMENT: Court Records__Matter of the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, Deceased, No. ST-21-RV-00005 (V.I. Super. Ct. 2021)__2021.03.29 Response - Response.txt ====================
METADATA_SOURCE: Court RecordsMatter of the Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein, Deceased, No. ST-21-RV-00005 (V.I. Super. Ct. 2021)
METADATA_FILENAME: 2021.03.29 Response - Response.pdf
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OF THE YIRGIN ISL.ANDS
March 29, 2021
ST-2019-PB-00080
TAMARA CHARLES
'.LERK OF THE COURT
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
DIVISION OF ST. THOMAS & ST. JOHN
***************************
IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF
JEFFREY E. EPSTEIN,
)
)
)
)
PROBATE NO. ST-19-PB-80
ACTION FOR TESTATE
ADMINISTRATION
Deceased.
CO-EXECUTORS' RESPONSE TO GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES
VIRGIN ISLANDS' NOTICE OF APPEAL & PETITION FOR REVIEW OF
MAGISTRATE JUDGE'S ORDERS
Pursuant to V.I. Super. Ct. R. 322(b)(5), the Co-Executors of the Estate of Jeffrey E.
Epstein, DARREN K. INDYKE and RICHARD D. ~HN, hereby respond to the Government
of the United States Virgin Islands' ("Government") Notice of Appeal & Petition for Review of
Magistrate Judge's Orders, filed March 17, 2021 ("Petition"). 1
CO-EXECUTORS' POSITION STATEMENT
The Government's Petition is too little, too late. Judge Hermon-Percell properly denied
the Government's Motion to Intervene in these probate proceedings over thirteen (13) months ago,
a fact that the Government inexplicably fails to tell the Court in its Petition. The Government also
neglects to inform the Court that the factual basis for its Emergency Motion to Freeze All Estate
Assets and Cash on Hand (the "Emergency Motion") is no longer accurate. That motion is thus
moot.
1. The Government Lost its Motion to Intervene Over Thirteen (13) Months Ago.
The Government filed its Motion to Intervene on January 23, 2020, relying on V.I. Civ. P.
Rule 24. As explained in the Co-Executors' January 31, 2020 opposition to that Motion, Rule 24
While the Government cites V.I. Supr. Ct. R. 322.1 (b) in support of its Petition, that Rule has been repealed.
'' Estate of Jeffrey E. Epstein
Response to Notice of Appeal
Probate No. ST-19-PB-80
Page 2 of5
is inapplicable to these probate proceedings, which are instead governed by Title 15 of the Virgin
Islands Code and the Virgin Islands Rules for Probate and Fiduciary Proceedings. 2 On February
4, 2020, the Magistrate Judge expressly denied the Motion to Intervene from the bench:
THE COURT: "[B]efore me I have a motion from the People, the Government to
intervene as a claimant intervenor in the matter and I'm going to deny that -
the
Motion to Intervene. You're here as a claimant. And I'm assuming that you will
file your formal creditors claim."
(Official Transcript of Proceedings at 98:8-14, attached as Exhibit B) (emphasis supplied).
There was no unce1tainty about the Magistrate Judge's February 4, 2020 ruling, and no
excuse for the Government to delay any appeal from it. Rather, the Government elected not to do
so. It strains credulity to now believe that the Government was unaware of that rnling and had to
await the Magistrate Judge's Order dated February 26, 2021 to realize that the Court denied its
Motion to Intervene more than one (1) year earlier. 3
Even if the Comt ignored the Government's extraordinary delay in filing its Petition, its
application lacks merit. As the Magistrate Judge noted on February 4, 2020, the Government -
a civil litigant against the Estate in the CICO lawsuit entitled Gov 't US Virgin Islands v. Estate
ofJeffrey Epstein, et al., No. ST-2020-CV-144 -
is in no different position than those asserting
claims against the Estate. The Magistrate Judge explained that situation to the Government:
"ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL ARIEL SMITH:
I just have one
procedural question, Your Honor.
To the extent that you've denied the
Government's Motion to Intervene, how would we file any response to -