Agana Bay Development Company (Hong Kong) Ltd. v. Supreme Court of Guam, Dillingham Corporation of the Pacific, Real Party in Interest

(dissenting).

In my view the Organic Act of Guam does not authorize the territorial legislature to transfer the appellate jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam to a locally-created court. Thus I would affirm the judgment of the district court.

*959 This case presents a difficult question of statutory interpretation, primarily involving the following convoluted sentence in section 22(a) of the Organic Act:

48 U.S.C. § 1424 (a). By this language the Act vests in the district court original jurisdiction of federal question cases and all local matters in Guam. It also provides that the territorial legislature can divest the district court of some or all of its original jurisdiction over local matters by transferring that jurisdiction to locally-created courts, thereby allowing the local judicial system to expand its capability as litigation increases. The district court would then have appellate jurisdiction over such cases as determined by the legislature.

My brothers acknowledged that section 22(a) does not explicitly authorize Guam to transfer the district court’s appellate jurisdiction to a local court. However, they find such a transfer included within the legislature’s…

In this case we hold that the Territory of Guam is authorized to eliminate the appellate jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam, pertaining to local, non-federal issues, by transferring that jurisdiction to a court created by the territorial legislature. The Court Reorganization Act, Guam Public Law 12-85 (January 16, 1974), changes the designation of the principal local court created by the Territory from “Island Court” to “Superior Court.” The Act also creates a Supreme Court of Guam and provides, effective July 1, 1974, that the supreme court has exclusive jurisdiction of appeals from the superior court. Formerly, all appeals from the Island Court had been taken to an appellate division of the District Court of Guam.

Agana Bay Development Company, a petitioner in this action, was the defendant in a prior suit commenced in the superior court, concerning the validity of certain liens asserted by plaintiff Dill-ingham Corporation of the Pacific. Partial summary judgment was granted for the defendant Agana Bay, and Dilling-ham appealed to the Supreme Court of Guam. Agana Bay then filed this action in the District Court of Guam, seeking a Writ of Prohibition directing…

529 F.2d 952 AGANA BAY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (HONG KONG) LTD., Petitioner-Appellee, v. SUPREME COURT OF GUAM, Respondent-Appellant, DILLINGHAM CORPORATION OF THE PACIFIC, Real Party in Interest. No. 75--1059. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Jan. 14, 1976. Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied March 3, 1976. Howard G. Trapp, Esq. (argued), of Trapp, Gayle, Teker, Weeks & Friedman, Agana, Guam, for petitioner-appellee. David T. Wood, Asst. Atty. Gen. (argued), Government of Guam, Agana, Guam, for respondent-appellant. OPINION Before CARTER, GOODWIN and KENNEDY, Circuit Judges. JAMES M. CARTER, Circuit Judge. 1 In this case we hold that the Territory of Guam is authorized to eliminate the appellate jurisdiction of the District Court of Guam, pertaining to local, non-federal issues, by transferring that jurisdiction to a court created by the territorial legislature. The Court Reorganization Act, Guam Public Law 12--85 (January 16, 1974), changes the designation of the principal local court created by the Territory from 'Island Court' to 'Superior Court.' The Act also creates a Supreme Court of Guam and provides, effective July 1, 1974, that the supreme court has…