Ardente v. Brunswick Corp.

58 F. Supp. 3d 193, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157941, 2014 WL 5771966
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedNovember 5, 2014
DocketC.A. No. 14-258 S
StatusPublished

This text of 58 F. Supp. 3d 193 (Ardente v. Brunswick Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ardente v. Brunswick Corp., 58 F. Supp. 3d 193, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157941, 2014 WL 5771966 (D.R.I. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

WILLIAM E. SMITH, Chief Judge.

Defendant Brunswick Corporation (“Defendant”) moves to dismiss Plaintiff Evan Ardente’s (“Plaintiff’) Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. (See Def.’s Mot. Dismiss (“Def.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 10.) Defendant argues that admiralty law applies and precludes Plaintiffs claims. For the reasons that follow, the motion is DENIED.

I. Background1

In 1999, Plaintiff purchased a 1997 580 Super Sun Sport Sea Ray yacht (“yacht”) from its original owner. In November of 2009, Plaintiff discovered that the yacht had sustained water damage in both its hull and deck. Plaintiff claims that this damage renders the yacht “unreasonably dangerous.” (Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 17, ECF No. 1.)

Plaintiff, a Rhode Island domiciliary, has brought an action against Defendant, a Delaware corporation, invoking diversity jurisdiction. Plaintiff asserts multiple claims for negligence and strict liability under Rhode Island law, as well as a claim for violation of Rhode Island’s Uniform Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Act, see R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 6-13.1-1 to 6-13.1-29. He alleges that the damage to the yacht’s hull and deck was caused by defective composite manufacturing techniques— specifically, the use of balsa wood core material — that were used by Defendant during the construction of the yacht. According to Plaintiff, use of a solid composite laminate in place of the balsa core would have eliminated the defect. As a result, Plaintiff is unable to use the yacht in its intended manner, as a “high-speed offshore recreational vessel.” (Pl.’s Compl. ¶ 12.)

In its motion, Defendant argues that it is clear from Plaintiffs Complaint that admiralty law applies to this action. Application of admiralty law precludes Plaintiffs claims, the argument goes, because Plaintiff seeks purely economic damages that are not recoverable in tort under admiralty law. Defendant asserts that the claims are more appropriately grounded in contract or warranty, but that the statute of limitations applicable to such actions has expired.

II. Legal Standard '

In ruling on a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, taking all well-pled factual allegations as true and giving the plaintiff the benefit of all reasonable inferences. See Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55-56 (1st Cir.2012).

[195]*195III. Discussion

In its Motion to Dismiss, Defendant challenges neither Plaintiffs assertion that diversity jurisdiction exists nor the sufficiency of Plaintiffs allegations under Rhode Island law. Rather, Defendant’s challenge to Plaintiffs Complaint is more nuanced: it argues that, notwithstanding Plaintiffs characterization of his claims as state-law based, it is evident from the Complaint that admiralty law applies to this action.

Admiralty law can be applied to a cause of action irrespective of whether a Plaintiff elects to ground jurisdiction on admiralty or some other basis. See Carey v. Bahama Cruise Lines, 864 F.2d 201, 206-07 (1st Cir.1988). The availability of admiralty jurisdiction and applicability of admiralty law are governed by the same test. See Austin v. Unarco Indus., Inc., 705 F.2d 1, 6 n. 1 (1st Cir.1983).

This well-established test is comprised of a location (“situs”) and connection (“nexus”) requirement:

A court applying the location test must determine whether the tort occurred on navigable water or whether injury suffered on land was caused by a vessel on navigable water. The connection test raises two issues. A court, first, must assess the general features of the type of incident involved[ ] to determine whether the incident has a potentially disruptive impact on maritime commerce. Second, a court must determine whether the general character of the activity giving rise to the incident shows a substantial relationship to traditional maritime activity.

Jerome B. Grubart, Inc. v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., 513 U.S. 527, 534, 115 S.Ct. 1043, 130 L.Ed.2d 1024 (1995) (citations omitted) (quoting Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358, 363-65, 110 S.Ct. 2892, 111 L.Ed.2d 292 (1990)) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Florio v. Olson, 129 F.3d 678, 680 (1st Cir.1997). If either requirement is lacking, admiralty law cannot be applied. See Florio, 129 F.3d at 680. This Court’s analysis begins — and ends — with the situs requirement.

Defendant insists that it is clear from Plaintiffs Complaint that the water damage occurred on navigable waters. (See Def.’s Mot. 4-5.) In opposition, Plaintiff states that other sources of water— namely, pressurized hose water or rain water — caused the initial water damage while the yacht was docked on land. (See Pl.’s Opp’n 2, 7, 9, ECF No. 12.) He posits that it is irrelevant whether additional water penetrated the yacht while sailing because the focus is on where the injury originally occurred. (See id. 7-8 (citing Abdelnour v. Bassett Custom Boatworks, Inc., 614 F.Supp.2d 123, 127 (D.Mass.2009)).) Defendant claims that these allegations are impossible to prove and that it is much more likely that the damage occurred while the yacht was being used in its intended manner, as a high-speed ocean cruiser on navigable waters. (See Def.’s Reply 5, ECF No. 13.)

Defendant’s argument that admiralty law applies must be rejected at this juncture because Plaintiffs Complaint is silent on where the original damage occurred. Although Plaintiff alleges that the yacht was intended and used as a “high-speed offshore recreational vessel” for “ocean cruising,” it is not clear from Plaintiffs Complaint that the water damage originally occurred while the yacht was in fact “ocean cruising.” (Pl.’s Compl. ¶¶ 12, 14-15.) Plaintiff repeatedly alleges that, “[a]s a result of the defect, water has penetrated into the Yacht’s hull and deck and deteriorated the structural efficiency of the Yacht.” (Id. ¶¶ 25, 33, 46; see also id. ¶ 8 (damage “resulted] from water intrusion [196]*196from various locations throughout the Yacht”); id. ¶ 10 (defect “allowed moisture to enter the hull and deck laminates”).) The Complaint does not specify where the yacht was located when the water intrusion originally occurred.

Judge Gorton’s decision in Abdelnour is instructive. In that case, the owner discovered cracks in the deck of his newly constructed vessel. Abdelnour, 614 F.Supp.2d at 125. After launching the vessel, the owner noticed that the cracks had increased in both size and number.

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Related

Sisson v. Ruby
497 U.S. 358 (Supreme Court, 1990)
Florio v. Olson
129 F.3d 678 (First Circuit, 1997)
Margaret Austin, Etc. v. Unarco Industries, Inc.
705 F.2d 1 (First Circuit, 1983)
Thomas Carey v. Bahama Cruise Lines
864 F.2d 201 (First Circuit, 1988)
Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Committee
669 F.3d 50 (First Circuit, 2012)
Abdelnour v. Bassett Custom Boatworks, Inc.
614 F. Supp. 2d 123 (D. Massachusetts, 2009)
Isla Nena Air Services, Inc. v. Cessna Aircraft Co.
380 F. Supp. 2d 74 (D. Puerto Rico, 2005)
Ardente v. Standard Fire Insurance Co.
744 F.3d 815 (First Circuit, 2014)
Ardente v. Standard Fire Insurance
906 F. Supp. 2d 22 (D. Rhode Island, 2012)

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Bluebook (online)
58 F. Supp. 3d 193, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 157941, 2014 WL 5771966, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ardente-v-brunswick-corp-rid-2014.