RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina appeals court says a man cannot be forced to pay almost $5,800 to a pair of Caribbean resort companies because he could not have a lawyer help him in a U.S. Virgin Islands court.
The state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday after Jerry A. Hailey appealed a Wake County judge’s order to pay Tropic Leisure Corp. and Magens Point Resort. Court documents don’t describe the reason for the debt.
The companies asked North Carolina judges to order Hailey’s payment under a legal process that enforces judgments by courts in other states.
The Virgin Islands are a U.S. territory of about 100,000 residents. The North Carolina appeals court said the territory doesn’t allow defendants to have attorneys argue their side before small-claims judgments, violating constitutionally protected due-process rights.
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