ST. CROIX — One month after filing a complaint against the law firm that defended her in the federal civil suit connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett has dismissed a lawsuit she filed over “unclear” legal bills against Duane Morris LLP.
No reason for the dismissal was provided in the filing.
Attorney Jeffrey B.C. Moorhead filed a notice of voluntary dismissal without prejudice on January 14, after initiating the case in Superior Court on St. Croix on December 14, 2025. Judge Ernest Morris approved the dismissal on January 21 without prejudice, meaning the suit can be refiled.
The complaint sought a court-ordered accounting and declaratory relief regarding legal fees Duane Morris billed to Plaskett in 2025.
READ MORE: Del. Stacey Plaskett sues law firm that represented her in Epstein-linked case over ‘unclear’ bills
Attorney Eric Breslin, a Duane Morris partner, represented Plaskett in the Epstein-linked suit. Plaskett’s cousin, attorney Miles Plaskett, is also listed on the Duane Morris website as a partner with the firm.
Duane Morris is contracted by the Virgin Islands Public Finance Authority, according to information obtained from the PFA’s budget submittal to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. The national firm has served as legal counsel to the PFA with respect to the scope of legislation aimed at legalizing cannabis for adult-use in the Virgin Islands and other general matters since November 11, 2019 at an hourly rate of $830 to $975, and with respect to the transfer of the West Indian Company Limited to the Virgin Islands Port Authority since August 1, 2021 at the same hourly rate. The firm has served as bond counsel for Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle (GARVEE) bonds issuance at a rate of $975 per hour since October 16, 2024, and has provided the PFA with general legal services at an hourly rate of $1,030 since November 14, 2024.
On February 9, WTJX requested from the PFA an annual breakdown of all funds the entity has paid to Duane Morris, but to date the information has not been made available.
It is also widely speculated that Plaskett is weighing a gubernatorial run. This is fueled by surrogates and supporters, the broadening of her campaign apparatus, and a survey from CCG Survey Research, a self described nationally recognized opinion research firm out of San Francisco, conducting a survey asking questions such as the following: “Stacey Plaskett is known as an effective and trustworthy elected official in Washington, fighting hard for the people of the Virgin Islands. During her time in Congress, she has delivered billions for medicare, Medicaid, rebuilding our energy grid and to protect our islands from Trump’s attacks. Her energy, ability to drive change and leadership skills are exactly what we need in our next governor. Does hearing this make you more likely, less likely, or does it make no difference in your support for Stacey Plaskett?”
If Plaskett does run and is successful, as the next governor of the Virgin Islands she will become the chair of the PFA per Title 29 of the Virgin Islands Code.
According to the dismissed complaint against Duane Morris, the firm sent the delegate to Congress multiple billings for legal services that she contended were “unclear” and appeared to include amounts and items that “may not be due or are not in fact owed.” She asked the court to require Duane Morris to provide a full accounting of the legal fees it billed to her. She also sought declaratory relief asking the court to rule that any charges found to be incorrect were not due and owing.
Breslin represented Stacey Plaskett in a 2023 federal lawsuit in New York connected to Epstein, who owned the private island estate Little Saint James off St. Thomas. Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 in Florida after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor as part of a plea agreement, 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.
The federal suit connected to Epstein, filed by six women identified as Jane Does to protect their identities due to allegations of sexual assault, alleged Plaskett and other Virgin Islands officials used their influence to facilitate Epstein’s movement of underage girls to the territory for commercial sex acts. 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, a position he previously held after leaving the Legislature in 2013, until he was dismissed in 2016. The suit also included as defendants 100 unnamed air traffic controllers, baggage handlers, police, and U.S. Coast Guard agents.
On March 21, 2025, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed the claims against all defendants except Plaskett. He threw out Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and official-capacity claims against her but allowed certain individual-capacity claims to proceed, citing her personal ties to New York.
Breslin informed Subramanian on August 21, 2025, that the case might soon be resolved. On August 28, 2025, he and the plaintiffs’ attorney filed a stipulation dismissing the suit against Stacey Plaskett with prejudice. After initial filing errors with signatures and event type, Breslin corrected the filing by September 4, 2025. On September 23, 2025, Subramanian approved the dismissal and ordered the case closed.
