Tundidor v. Miami-Dade County

108 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72463, 2015 WL 3539742
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 4, 2015
DocketCase No. 14-23850-CIV
StatusPublished

This text of 108 F. Supp. 3d 1312 (Tundidor v. Miami-Dade County) 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
Tundidor v. Miami-Dade County, 108 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72463, 2015 WL 3539742 (S.D. Fla. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon Defendant, Miami-Dade County’s (“County[’s]”) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint (“Motion”) [ECF No. 34], filed April 20, 2015. The County seeks a dismissal of the “Amended Complaint in Admiralty and Request for Trial by Jury” (“Complaint”) [ECF No. 5] on the basis there is no admiralty jurisdiction in fact, and because admiralty jurisdiction is the only jurisdictional ground asserted, the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. As the County aptly describes its position, Plaintiff, Youry Tundidor (“Tundidor”), “seeks to have a personal injury claim that allegedly arose during a recreational boating trip on an in-land drainage canal with no access to navigable waters litigated in a federal forum applying a specialized body of federal law designed to address claims that affect the maritime shipping industry in waters that serve as arteries of interstate commerce.” (Reply 1 [ECF No. 44-1]). Tundidor filed his Response [ECF No. 36] on May 7, 2015. The County filed its Reply on May 18, 2015.1

The Court has carefully reviewed the parties’ written submissions and applicable law. For the reasons explained below, the Court finds it does not have subject matter jurisdiction and grants the Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiff’s Allegations

Plaintiff alleges in January 1969, the County acquired 31 privately owned water and sewer systems operating in the County to create a unified public utility system. (See Compl. ¶7). The County acquired General Waterworks Corporation, a private company that owned and operated water and sewer systems in the County. (See id. ¶ 8). Prior to the acquisition, General Waterworks owned and operated an aerial water line as well as an aerial sewer line that crosses over a navigable canal waterway (the “Coral Park Canal”), and runs parallel to a canal bridge at Southwest 94 Avenue and Southwest 12 Street in Miami (the “Coral Park Canal Bridge”). (See id. ¶ 9). The Coral Park Canal Bridge lies between the water line and the sewer line; the water line is on the south side of the Coral Park Canal Bridge while the sewer line is on the north side of the Coral Park Canal Bridge. (See id.). The water and sewer lines are appurtenances to the Coral Park Canal Bridge. (See id.).

The Coral Park Canal connects to the Tamiami Canal, which connects to the Miami River, which leads out to Biscayne Bay and from there to the Atlantic Ocean. (See id. ¶ 10). The Coral Park Canal, Tamiami Canal, and Miami River are allegedly navigable waterways. (See id.). The County owns, operates, controls and maintains the Coral Park Canal Bridge, the water line, and the sewer line. (See id. ¶¶ 11, 12). The County created or maintained and allowed an obstruction to navigation to continue to exist on the Coral Park Canal in violation of 33 U.S.C. section [1314]*1314403, and 33 C.F.R. sections 116(c) and 114.10. (See id. ¶ 13).

On July 6, 2013, Tundidor was a passenger on a vessel traveling south on the Coral Park Canal. (See id. ¶¶ 20-21). As the vessel approached the Coral Park Canal Bridge from the north and exited the south side of the Bridge, Tundidor was struck without warning on his forehead and face by a six-inch main water line attached to and running parallel with the south side of the Bridge. (See id. ¶ 21). Plaintiff suffered damages and now brings a claim of negligence against the County. (See id. 5).

B. Additional Information Following Jurisdictional Discovery

Defendant first moved to dismiss the Complaint on December 12, 2014 (see Motion to Dismiss [ECF No. 12]), raising the same argument it raises now. Following a hearing on December 23, 2014 [ECF No. 16], the Court allowed the parties time to conduct jurisdictional discovery. As the present Motion presents a factual challenge to the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction, the Court considers the additional factual information supplied following that discovery.

According to the information furnished by the County, the Coral Park Canal is not connected to the Tamiami Canal, Miami River, Biscayne Bay, or Atlantic Ocean in a manner that allows a maritime vessel to travel on a continued highway where interstate commerce can be conducted. (See Mot. 3). Further, the County asserts neither the Coral Park Canal nor the Tamia-mi Canal is presently capable of supporting interstate commercial activity. (See id.).

In support, the County submits a number of sworn statements and exhibits. (See id. Exs. 1-12). These show the Coral Park Canal connects to the Tamiami Canal underneath Southwest 8 Street through a low-lying bridge at the intersection of Southwest 94 Avenue and Southwest 8 Street. At its point of connection with the Coral Park Canal, the Tamiami Canal runs parallel to 8 Street and continues eastward past the Miami International Airport and toward the Miami River. Eastward travel along the Tamiami Canal from the Coral Park Canal is obstructed by a series of low-lying bridges, water pipes, and railroad tracks. In total, there are at least 15 bridges, four water pipes, and two railroad tracks east of the Coral Park Canal creating areas of significant low clearance along the Tamiami Canal. The water pipes along the Tamiami Canal are stationary objects; none of the bridges or railroad tracks is a moveable, bascule-type bridge that can open to permit larger vessels to pass through.

In addition to the areas of significant low height clearance, many of the bridges and water pipes are supported by submerged structural columns narrowing the passages and making them considerably narrower than the Tamiami Canal itself. The bridge at 8 Street and the southbound Palmetto Expressway, for example, contains at least four structural columns in the Tamiami Canal narrowing the available area for a vessel to pass under the bi’idge. According to Susan Sylvester of the South Florida Water Management District, “the Army Corps of Engineers had previously made a designation that the C^f Canal [the Tamiami Canal] was not designed or purposed for navigation.” (Susan Sylvester Dep., Mot. Ex. 8, 101:12-18 [ECF No. 34-8] (bracketed language added)). The County explains the Tamiami Canal is not capable in its present state of supporting commercial maritime activity because it does not have a navigable connection to the Miami River.2 (See Mot. 7 (stating [1315]*1315subject matter jurisdiction is “lacking because the Tamiami Canal does not have a navigable connection to the Miami River.”)). Because of a water control structure (the“S-25B Spillway”) at the eastward end of the Tamiami Canal, no vessels in that Canal may access the Miami River, Biscayne Bay, or the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, prominent signs at the S-25B Spillway state: “DANGER — NO BOATING BEYOND THIS POINT.” (Id. 9; Mot. Ex. 10, 6 [ECF No. 34-10]).

Marina Blanco-Pape is a professional engineer with the County’s Public Works and Waste Management Division. Ms. Blanco-Pape submitted an affidavit attesting that at the Coral Park Canal connection to the C-4 or Tamiami Canal, a low lying bridge not intended for navigation by vessels is found, and the Coral Park Canal is connected to the C-2 or Snapper Creek Canal by a non-navigable culvert. (See Affidavit of Marina Blanco-Pape (“Blanco-Pape Aff.”), Mot. Ex.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
108 F. Supp. 3d 1312, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72463, 2015 WL 3539742, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tundidor-v-miami-dade-county-flsd-2015.