DISTRICT COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS 
DIVISION OF ST. CROIX 
 
PORT HAMILTON REFINING AND  
 
) 
TRANSPORTATION, LLLP,  
 
 
) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Plaintiff,  
 
 
) 
 
 
  
 
) 
 
) 
 
 
v.  
 
 
 
 
)  
Civil Action No. 2024-0023  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
) 
 
NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL SERVICES,  
) 
LLC,  
 
 
 
 
 
) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
) 
 
 
 
Defendant. 
 
 
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__________________________________________) 
 
Attorneys:  
Andrew C. Simpson, Esq. 
St. Croix, U.S.V.I. 
For Plaintiff 
 
Kevin F. D’Amour, Esq. 
St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. 
For Defendant  
 
ORDER 
 
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Plaintiff Port Hamilton Refining and 
Transportation, LLLP’s (“Port Hamilton”) Motion for Reconsideration (Dkt. No. 22) and 
National Industrial Services’ Response in Opposition to the Motion for Reconsideration (Dkt. 
No. 23). Port Hamilton requests, inter alia, that the Court reconsider and vacate its Order dated 
October 2, 2024. (Dkt. No. 22 at 3). In that Order, the Court, inter alia, transferred this action to 
the Southern District of Texas—the home court of the underlying bankruptcy proceeding—for 
the ultimate determination of whether bankruptcy jurisdiction exists. (Dkt. No. 20 at 3). Port 
Hamilton contends that manifest injustice will result from a transfer because, in Port Hamilton’s  
view, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas has “abstained from 
Case: 1:24-cv-00023-WAL-EAH     Document #: 24     Filed: 10/04/24     Page 1 of 2
2 
 
deciding the territorial law ownership issues” and “has already elected to refrain from deciding 
issues of territorial law in a similar case.” (Dkt. No. 22 at 1-2); see also (Dkt. No. 22-1 at 5) 
(providing Order issued by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of 
Texas in a dispute related to Limetree Bay Refining, LLC’s bankruptcy case between Port 
Hamilton and another party indicating that it will abstain from hearing any argument “relating to 
underlying ownership rights of any assets or shared services systems”).  
 
The Court finds that no manifest injustice will result from the transfer. The Court is 
transferring this action to the Southern District of Texas so that the home court of the underlying 
bankruptcy proceedings can determine whether it has and will retain jurisdiction over this matter,  
or whether some other disposition is appropriate.1 Whatever the result, it remains the view of this 
Court that it is for the home court to decide.  
 
UPON CONSIDERATION of the foregoing, it is hereby 
 
ORDERED that Port Hamilton’s Motion for Reconsideration (Dkt. No. 22) is DENIED. 
 
SO ORDERED. 
Date: October 4, 2024  
 
 
 
_______/s/_______ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
WILMA A. LEWIS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
District Judge 
 
1 As the Court previously noted in its Memorandum Opinion dated October 2, 2024 (Dkt. No. 
21), “the Court’s transfer ‘simply determines which court should make the ultimate decision as 
to forum’ and ‘does not foreclose the possibility that this case will be remanded to state court.’” 
Id. at 8 (quoting Fire Ground Techs., LLC v. Hometown Restoration, LLC, Civ. A. No. 21-
19915, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 87589, at *7-8 (D.N.J. May 16, 2022)). 
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