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Past Cases
AN AGGRESIVE APPROACH TO MARITIME
LITIGATION
Success
in a maritime case not only requires expertise in Admiralty Law
but also the prompt assembly of evidence -- which in our business
can disappear with the next tide. I therefore endeavor to attend
on-site as early as possible so that we can prepare our litigation
approach at the outset.
This
aggressive strategy has produced stunning victories for my clients,
both in and out of the courtroom. Here are some highlights:
Maritime Fraud:
An aggressive defense (including aerial surveillance)
turned up a conspiracy of slips and falls. After the judge
threatened plaintiff with federal criminal prosecution,
his lawyer voluntarily dismissed the Jones Act/Unseaworthiness
suit on the morning of trial. Sullivan v. Keystone Shipping
Co., (D. Mass. 1994).
In another curious case, on
learning that plaintiff had just been through Chapter 7,
I got his personal injury claim dismissed because he had
concealed it from the bankruptcy court. Monteiro v.
Mormac Marine Transport, Inc., (D. Mass. 1997).
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Hurricane
Bob:
I defended 28 third party claims against yacht owners. Convincing
attorneys to drop 23 of those claims while settling 2 claims
where the insured's liability was clear, I took 3 suits to
trial in state district court, winning defense judgments in
each. Fowler v. HIGH TIME (1992) ; Swift v. BLUE
MARGARITA and BOAT/U. S. (1992) ; Sweeney
v. TALISMAN and BOAT/U.S. (1994).
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The Perfect Storm:
After the October 1991 storm I settled an allision claim for
20% of plaintiff's demand. Tolley v. HONI-DO III (D.
Mass. 1993). Ten years later, I defended Warner Bros. in a
suspicious but severe personal injury suit arising during
filming, settling plaintiff's multi-million dollar demand
for 1% just prior to jury selection. Baker v. Warner Bros.,
(D. Mass. 2001).
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Collision
and Limitation of Liability:
On appointment by Hull and P&I Insurers after a charter
fishing boat sank with loss of life when a speeding yacht
ran it over in fog , I immediately arranged salvage for evidence
preservation and accident reconstruction. Confident with our
navigational and our marine surveyor's forensic evaluations,
I then aggressively pursued litigation, culminating with unique
surveillance video which devastated the yacht owner's case.
In re HAWKEYE (D. Mass. 1996).
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Summary Judgment:
Minimizing defense costs, I convinced the judge to throw
a meritless personal injury suit out of court early in the
proceedings. Stone v. Mormac Marine
Transport, Inc., 1996 AMC 735 (D. Mass. 1995).
Similarly, I won swift jurisdictional
dismissals in state court for a Danish time charterer in
Mercado v. K/S Terkol Tank (1998), for an Italian manufacturer in Gonzalez v. Stiavelli Officiana Meccanica (1997), for a Chinese telecommunications firm in Trans National Communications International, Inc. v. Webway Communications, Inc. (2004), and in federal court for a Florida rigger, The Edson Corp. v. Nance & Underwood, Rigging and Sails, Inc. (D. Mass. 2008).
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 Jury Verdict:
After the jury returned a defense verdict for a scallop boat
client in a Jones Act/Unseaworthiness suit, the judge dismissed
the Maintenance and Cure suit too, since plaintiff fisherman's
need for future surgery was not clear. Bonneau
v. Guidance Fishing Corp.,
919 F.Supp. 46 (D. Mass. 1996).
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Fisheries Management:
In a bruising battle with the federal government over its deplorable management of New England's fishing industry, I led the charge for sustainable fisheries and rational regulation based on fishing gears' differential impacts on fish habitat and bycatch. Massachusetts v. Daley,
10 F.Supp.2d 74 (D. Mass. 1998), aff'd 170 F.3d
23 (1st Cir. 1999); American Oceans Campaign v. Daley, 2000 U.S. Dist Lexis 15991 (D.D.C. 2000).
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NOAA Fisheries Permits:
Brought successful resolution before The Maritime Law Association of the United States to support a Congressional amendment eliminating maritime liens on federal fishing permits. This would facilitate UCC-Article 2 financing of these valuable assets to benefit the fishing industry, vessel safety, and employment.
"Maritime Liens on Fishing Privileges: Towards a Congressional Resolution," 2 Benedict's Maritime Bulletin 339 (Fourth Quarter 2004).
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 Massachusetts Waterways:
When a residential dock owner was sued by neighbors, I
vindicated him before the Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection, In
re DeMaio, 5 DEP Rptr. 59 (1998), and then recovered
his attorneys' fees in full.
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