Bradford Marine, Inc. v. M/V "Sea Falcon"

64 F.3d 585, 1995 WL 514455
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit·Decided September 15, 1995·No. No. 93-5102·Published·Cited by 31 cases

Opinion

TJOFLAT, Chief Judge:

Appellant, the vessel Sea Falcon, appeals from a judgment assessing attorney’s fees against it in an in rem action to enforce a maritime hen for necessaries pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 31342 (Supp. Ill 1991). The district court held that the Sea Falcon was properly hable for the fees because the repair contract at issue provided that the plaintiff would receive attorney’s fees if it retained legal counsel to cohect its repair charges. Because attorney’s fees cannot be assessed against a vessel in rem in this manner, we vacate the district court’s award of attorney’s fees against the Sea Falcon.

I.

Bradford Marine, Inc. (“Bradford”) performed repair work on the Sea Falcon at the request of its captain. The repair contract, which the captain signed, provided that “[sjhould it become necessary to cohect any charges upon demand of an attorney, the Owner(s) of the Yacht agree(s) to pay a reasonable attorney’s fee, costs and interest.” After Bradford completed the repairs, the Sea Falcon’s owner, Double Eagle Yacht Sales (“Double Eagle”), failed to pay the bill.

Bradford filed a complaint against the Sea Falcon in rem and Double Eagle in person-am to collect the debt. Bradford sought from both Double Eagle and the Sea Falcon the amount owed, interest and costs, and attorney’s fees. Because the repairs were “necessaries” provided to a vessel, Bradford sought a maritime hen on the Sea Falcon and requested that the hen be foreclosed.

The Sea Falcon was arrested. Although a summons issued for Double Eagle, Double Eagle was never served. Double Eagle filed a claim of ownership and moved the court to release the Sea Falcon, stating in its motion that it was prepared to place $17,826.76 — the amount of Bradford’s repair claim plus 12% to cover costs — in the registry of the court pursuant to Rule 11(A)(3) of the Local Admiralty Rules for the Southern District of Florida. The district court issued an order releasing the Sea Falcon subject to Double Eagle’s placement of the funds with the court. Five days after the court issued its order, Bradford filed a motion to modify the order, urging that, pursuant to Local Rule 11(A)(3), the amount placed with the court should be increased “to include estimated attorneys’ fees, interest, and costs.” After the Sea Falcon had been released, the district court granted Bradford’s motion and ordered the Sea Falcon to deposit an additional $6,048.36 into the registry of the court. The Sea Falcon complied.

The Sea Falcon filed an answer and a counterclaim alleging breach of contract, wrongful arrest, and damage to the vessel [587]*587while under arrest. Double Eagle, however, did not file an answer. After a one-day bench trial, the court determined that Double Eagle had breached the repair contract; that Bradford’s work on the vessel was performed in a skilled and careful manner except for one aspect of the work not relevant to this appeal; that the Sea Falcon was appropriately maintained during the arrest; and that, under the repair contract, Bradford was entitled to attorney’s fees. The court entered final judgment against “the Defendant” — apparently the Sea Falcon — for $22,901.93, a sum consisting of the cost of the repair, late payment fees, custodial fees, and interest. The final judgment stated that the court would award attorney’s fees upon proper motion from Bradford. Upon Bradford’s motion, the court awarded attorney’s fees of $14,212.50 and further costs of $2,611.84.

After Bradford filed a motion to release the funds on deposit in the court’s registry, the Sea Falcon filed a notice of appeal and motion to stay judgment. The district court required the Sea Falcon to post a supersede-as bond covering the amount of the judgment, costs, and attorney’s fees less the amount already in the registry of the court to obtain a stay of execution. The Sea Falcon complied, depositing the additional funds with the court.

The Sea Falcon, but not Double Eagle, now appeals, urging that the district court erred in assessing attorney’s fees against it in rem because the legal services that gave rise to the fees were not “necessaries” furnished to the Sea Falcon.1 Because we agree, we reverse.

II.

We first address whether this court has jurisdiction to decide this appeal. It is, at best, unclear whether a final judgment has been entered as to Bradford’s in personam claim against Double Eagle. Although all of the pleadings and court orders below carried Double Eagle in the style, it appears that Double Eagle never filed any pleadings except its notice of ownership. The district court used both “Defendant” and “Defendants” without distinction in its findings of fact and conclusions of law but did not note to which party — Double Eagle or the Sea Falcon — the singular term “Defendant” referred. The court’s judgment states that “the Defendant” is liable for the judgment; because the Sea Falcon appears to have been the only active litigant, we interpret the judgment as applying only to the Sea Falcon in rem. Because Bradford never dismissed its claims against Double Eagle and judgment apparently was never entered against Double Eagle, Bradford’s in personam claim against Double Eagle remains to be resolved below.2

“To be appealable an order must either be final or fall into a specific class of interlocutory orders made appealable by statute or [588]*588jurisprudential exception.” Nichols v. Barwick, 792 F.2d 1520, 1522 (11th Cir.1986). Under Rule 54(b), no judgment is final unless it adjudicates all claims among all parties. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 54(b). The court may, of course, determine that there is “no just reason for delay” and enter judgment on a particular claim, id., but the district court did not do so in this case. Because the judgment in this case is not final, we do not have jurisdiction of this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (1988).

We do, however, have jurisdiction of this appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(3) (1988), which provides jurisdiction of appeals from “[ijnterlocutory decrees ... determining the rights and liabilities of the parties to admiralty cases in which appeals from final decrees are allowed.” Id. All the rights and liabilities of all the parties do not need to be determined before such an order is appeal-able. Nichols, 792 F.2d at 1522; Gulf Towing Co. v. Steam Tanker, Amoco New York, 648 F.2d 242, 244 (5th Cir. Unit B June, 1981) (per curiam).3 Because Bradford’s rights and liabilities as to the defendant vessel

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Bradford Marine, Inc. v. M/V "Sea Falcon", 64 F.3d 585, 1995 WL 514455 (11th Cir. 1995).

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