The Senate Financial Services Committee passed out of committee a bill to have the territory adopt the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, a sort of national template for state laws on defrauding a creditor by moving assets. The territory adopted the original Uniform Act back in 1921, according to Lisa Moorhead, chairwoman of the V.I. Uniform Law Commission. Each state and territory has a local uniform law commission composed of attorneys who help draft and promote draft uniform laws.
Both the original and new law establish a right for creditors to go after any debtor and any person who received property from the debtor in a transfer designed to delay or defraud a creditor or when no reasonably equivalent value is given in return. The new version updates the language to bring it into conformity with present day conditions in federal law, modern creditor-debtor relations, the rules governing lawyer conduct and other ways the environment has changed over the decades.
Sen. Neville James said the 28th Legislature has passed several bills establishing national uniform commercial laws in the territory, breaking up something of a logjam from previous years.
Voting to send the bill on to the next step in the legislative process were: James, Sens. Wayne James, Nereida "Nellie" O’Reilly and Michael Thurland. Absent were Sens. Terrence "Positive" Nelson, Adlah "Foncie" Donastorg and Celestino White.
By unanimous consent, the committee held a bill setting a $250,000 limit on civil liability suits against the V.I. Water and Power Authority.
WAPA officials argued setting a limit would help lower annual $800,000 insurance premiums and out-of-pocket settlement costs.
In the past four years the authority has paid $1.9 million, plus costs, plus attorneys fees, for its deductibles and its portion of claims and settlements, said Maurice Sebastien, WAPA assistant chief financial officer.
Senators asked WAPA officials to compile data on what the limit would actually save WAPA and its ratepayers and voted by unanimous consent to hold the bill until more information was available.
