Dr. Lucien A. Moolenaar Ii, and Phyllis Wallace v. Atlas Motor Inns, Inc., D/B/A Frenchman's Reef Holiday Inn, and Robert E. Fudge

OPINION OF THE COURT

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

Does a gentleman wearing open-toed dress sandals comply with the “elegantly casual” dress code of an exclusive nightclub in a Virgin Islands hotel? The management thought not and effected a citizen’s arrest when the sandaled plaintiff refused to leave. A jury disagreed and awarded compensatory and punitive damages. We vacate the judgment and remand for a new trial because the trial judge declined to instruct the jury on the statutory rights of innkeepers to evict persons who violate the rules of the house.

Plaintiff, Dr. Moolenaar, sued the defendants,…