In this long-running dispute, the Virgin Islands Conservation Society, Inc. (“VICS”) — an environmental advocacy organization — challenged a default permit that the Virgin Islands Board of Land Use Appeals granted to Golden Resorts LLLP. VICS filed its petition for writ of review in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, a territorial court, and eventually appealed the Superior Court’s decision to the Appellate Division of the District Court of the Virgin Islands, another territorial court. The issue was whether a party appealing from the decision of a territorial court must establish Article III standing when invoking the Third Circuit’s jurisdiction, even though Article III standing is not required before the territorial courts. The Court held that the party invoking federal jurisdiction must establish that Article III’s standing requirements have been met. The Court remanded for the lower court to supplement the record.
