Bernadette Charles v. Albert Mansfield Charles

OPINION OF THE COURT

BECKER, Circuit Judge.

This case presents the question whether the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands erred in considering a spouse’s responsibility for the failure of a marriage in the distribution of the marital homestead pursuant to V.I.Code Ann. tit. 33 § 2305(d) (1967 & Supp.1985). For the reasons that follow, we conclude that § 2305(d)’s broad grant of equitable discretion permits consideration of marital fault in the homestead distribution, and hence that the court’s ruling was proper.

I

On August 31, 1982, Bernadette Charles (“Bernadette”) instituted divorce…