Girard v. The M/Y "Quality Time"

4 F. Supp. 3d 1352, 2014 A.M.C. 323, 2014 WL 495739, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 6, 2014
DocketCase No. 13-cv-10010-KMM
StatusPublished

This text of 4 F. Supp. 3d 1352 (Girard v. The M/Y "Quality Time") is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Girard v. The M/Y "Quality Time", 4 F. Supp. 3d 1352, 2014 A.M.C. 323, 2014 WL 495739, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814 (S.D. Fla. 2014).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

K. MICHAEL MOORE, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon a non-jury trial on October 7, 2013. The vessel M/Y Quality Time (“the Quality Time”) ran aground on December 26, 2012, near Key West, Florida. Trial Tr. (ECF No. 42), at 3. Salvage services were rendered by Plaintiff Arnaud Girard and Key West Marine Assistance. Id. at 5. The Parties do not dispute that a salvage award is due, but disagree as to the quantum of that award. Id. at 8. UPON CONSIDERATION of the evidence presented, the pertinent portions of the record, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the Court enters the following Order.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Tony Swindell is the owner and operator of the Quality Time, a 2005 42-foot [1354]*1354Meridian motor yacht. Id. at 3. The Quality Time is insured by Boat U.S. Insurance. Id. at 219-221.

2. Arnaud Girard operates Key West Marine Assistance, a salvage company. Trial Tr., at 12.

3. Girard has assigned the salvage claim in this matter to himself individually and is representing himself in this proceeding. Id. at 70-71.

4. Girard has been active in the salvage industry for approximately thirty years and has previously completed salvage work in the Key West area. See id. at 12.

5. Jeffrey Sundwall works for Key West Marine Assistance. Id. at 123. Sund-wall will likely receive a percentage of any salvage award in this Case. Id. at 206. Girard, Sundwall, and Key West Marine Assistance (“the Salvors”) provided salvage assistance in this matter.

6. The Salvors operate the M/V Magic Penny (“the Magic Penny”), a 23-foot fiberglass skiff. Trial Tr., at 12-13, 75-76.

7. The Magic Penny carries, among other items, a hydraulic pump, underwater drills, a towline, and a spud. Id. at 76, 159.

8. On December 26, 2012, the Quality Time was en route to Key West from St. Petersburg, Florida, with Swindell and five other passengers on board. Id. at 3.

9. At approximately 8:22 p.m. the Quality Time struck a submerged object and began taking on water in the Northwest Channel approaching Key West. Id. at 4. Swindell promptly anchored the Quality Time in protected waters. Id. at 211.

10. The Coast Guard responded to the distress call and arrived on the scene within fifteen minutes. Trial Tr., at 211.

11. Girard heard the distress call on the radio. Id. at 13. Girard departed on the Magic Penny, picked up Sund-wall, and arrived at the scene at approximately 8:49 p.m. Id. at 13, 98.

12. At the time the Salvors reached the Quality Time, the Coast Guard had removed the passengers and had begun dewatering the vessel. Id. at 67, 151.

13. The Coast Guard pump was losing prime and could not remove the water from the engine room, which had reached a water level of at least two and a half feet. Id. at 15-16, 151-53.

14. The Salvors used the Magic Penny’s pump to dewater the engine room and the stem compartment. Trial Tr., at 15-17, 213.

15. The generator was turned off by Swindell before the Coast Guard arrived. Id. at 214. However, the Sal-vors did not receive a clear communication from Swindell as to whether the generator and the inverter were on or off. Id. at 19-20, 166. The Salvors believed that there may have been an active electric current on the Quality Time and took special caution as a result. Id. at 19-20, 102, 165.

16. The impact of the accident caused the propeller shaft to tear a hole in the fiberglass hull of the Quality Time. Id. at 129.

17. Sundwall conducted a dive outside of the Quality Time to attempt to plug the hole. Trial Tr., at 17-18, 159-161. This dive was conducted in the darkness and included the risk of contact with the jagged propeller blades. Id. at 20-22, 105-106. It may have been less dangerous to attempt to plug the hole from inside the vessel. Id. at 108.

[1355]*135518. Sundwall patched the hole with a foam patch, and a wooden wedge, which was provided by the Coast Guard. Id. at 24-25.

19. Once the flooding was under control, the Salvors were able to stabilize the boat through the use of the electric pump. Id. at 6.

20. The Coast Guard remained on the scene for at least thirty-three minutes after the Magic Penny arrived, and assisted in dewatering the vessel. Trial Tr., at 287. The Coast Guard departed with all six passengers, including Swindell, at approximately 9:22 p.m. Id. at 100.

21. The Salvors towed the vessel to Spencer’s Boatyard in Key West and the vessel was hauled out of the water at approximately midnight. Id. at 100-101,128.

22. The spectrum of salvage services provided by the Salvors consisted of patching, pumping, and towing, which are normal salvage services. Id. at 115.

23. During the salvage operation, the Magic Penny took on water due to a broken pipe. Trial Tr., at 117-18. This situation subsequently stabilized. Id. at 119.

24. The salvage operation took place within the Key West National Wildlife Refuge. Id. at 29-30. There is no indication of any environmental damage caused by the accident, or any specific attempt to remedy such possible damage by the Salvors. Def.’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (ECF No. 41), at 13.

25. At one point during the night the wind speed reached twenty knots. Trial Tr., at 85. Otherwise the wind speed ranged approximately between nine and thirteen knots. Id. at 289.

26. The wave height was approximately two feet at maximum on the night in question. Id. at 83. The waves were moderate. Id. at 211.

27. The tidal current on the night in question was approximately 1.6 knots. Id. at 96.

28. Girard and Boat U.S. Insurance could not agree on a settlement value to resolve this matter. Trial Tr., at 223-225.

29. The pre-casualty value of the Quality Time was $185,000, as supported by the testimony of marine surveyor and adjustor Brett Carlson. Id. at 252, 259.

30. The cost of the repairs from Spencer’s Boatyard was $44,199.55. Id. at 140.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. This action is within the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1333.

2. The law of salvage rewards the voluntary salvor for the successful rescue of life or property imperiled at sea. Ocean Services Towing & Salvage, Inc. v. Brown, 810 F.Supp. 1258, 1262 (S.D.Fla.1993). Here, there is no dispute that the Salvors rendered successful salvage services. Trial Tr., at 8. The only issue in dispute is the quantum of a reasonable salvage award. Id.

3. Salvage awards are calculated as a percentage of the value of the salvaged vessel, which is obtained by subtracting the repair costs from the vessel’s pre-casualty value. See Beach Salvage Corp. of Fla. v. The Cap’t Tom, 201 F.Supp.

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4 F. Supp. 3d 1352, 2014 A.M.C. 323, 2014 WL 495739, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14814, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/girard-v-the-my-quality-time-flsd-2014.