ST. CROIX — Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett has filed a civil lawsuit against the law firm Duane Morris LLP, seeking a court-ordered accounting and declaratory relief related to legal fees billed to her earlier this year.
Attorney Eric Breslin, Plaskett’s lead attorney in her federal civil suit linked to Jeffrey Epstein that was dismissed in September, is a partner with Duane Morris, a national law firm with offices in multiple jurisdictions.
Attorney Miles Plaskett, the delegate to Congress’ cousin, is also listed as a partner with Duane Morris, according to the firm’s website.
Stacey Plaskett alleges that Duane Morris sent her multiple billings for legal services that she contends are “unclear” and appear to include amounts and items that “may not be due or are not in fact owed,” according to the complaint, which attorney Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead filed Sunday in Superior Court on St. Croix.
The lawsuit seeks two primary forms of relief. First, Stacey Plaskett is asking the court to require Duane Morris to provide a full accounting of the legal fees it billed to her. Second, she seeks declaratory relief asking the court to rule that any charges found to be incorrect are not due and owing.
The complaint does not specify the total amount in dispute or detail which billings are being challenged. It also does not allege fraud or misconduct, focusing instead on the need for clarification and judicial review of the invoices.
The lawsuit was filed along with a summons to Duane Morris that Moorhead failed to sign. On Wednesday, the court clerk filed a notice of deficiencies that indicated no signature was included on the summons. Moorhead was given five days to file a corrected version of the document to prevent the court from rejecting it.
Breslin represented Stacey Plaskett in a civil suit filed on November 22, 2023 in District Court, Southern District of New York that was tied to Epstein, a disgraced financier who was convicted in 2008 in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor as part of a plea agreement. Epstein, who owned a mansion on an island off St. Thomas called Little St. James, was arrested again in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors for allegedly abusing dozens of underage girls in New York, Florida, and the Virgin Islands. His death on August 10, 2019 in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial was ruled a suicide.
A group of five women identified in the 2023 lawsuit as Jane Does to protect their identities due to the sensitive and highly personal nature of allegations that involved sexual assault, were later joined by a sixth woman. The plaintiffs subsequently filed an amended complaint on December 12, 2023, followed by a second amended complaint on May 13, 2024. They claimed all the defendants, including Stacey Plaskett and former elected officials from the Virgin Islands, used their political power and personal influence to coerce customs, U.S. Coast Guard, airport, and law enforcement agents to allow Epstein to bring New York men and women to the Virgin Islands for commercial sex acts before leaving the territory without any intervention or repercussions.
Stacey Plaskett was named as a defendant along with former Governors John de Jongh Jr. and Kenneth Mapp, former First Lady Cecile de Jongh, former Attorney General Vincent Frazer, and former Senators Celestino White and Carlton Dowe, who now serves as director of the VI Port Authority. The lawsuit included as defendants 100 unnamed individuals identified as John Does, including air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, police, and U.S. Coast Guard agents.
On March 21, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the charges against all the defendants except Stacey Plaskett. He also dismissed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act claims against her, as well as charges against her in her official capacity as delegate to Congress. However, he allowed remaining claims against her to proceed in her individual capacity. He found that she had sufficient personal ties to New York, unlike the other defendants, because she traveled there and solicited funds from Epstein.
On August 28, Breslin and an attorney representing the plaintiffs filed a stipulation of dismissal, agreeing the suit against Stacey Plaskett was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. The document was filed under the description, “Notice of Voluntary Dismissal.” The attorneys electronically signed it.
The court subsequently gave Breslin notice on August 29 in a docket entry for the case that the stipulation of dismissal filing was deficient because it lacked handwritten signatures and was filed under the incorrect event type. Breslin was instructed to refile the document using the description “Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal.”
READ MORE: Court flags deficiency in dismissal filing of Epstein-linked suit against Plaskett, orders refiling
The document was subsequently refiled on September 3. It included handwritten signatures but was still described as a “Notice of Voluntary Dismissal.”
Breslin was immediately notified of the filing error in a docket entry, which indicated that the wrong event type was selected. He properly refiled the document on September 4 as a “Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal.”
READ MORE: Stacey Plaskett’s attorney files dismissal in Epstein-linked lawsuit correctly on third attempt
On September 23, Subramanian ordered the stipulation of dismissal and directed the case to be closed.
