United States v. Daiei Maru No. 2

562 F. Supp. 34, 1984 A.M.C. 1518, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18271
CourtDistrict Court, D. Alaska
DecidedAugust 11, 1982
DocketNo. A82-165 CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 562 F. Supp. 34 (United States v. Daiei Maru No. 2) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Daiei Maru No. 2, 562 F. Supp. 34, 1984 A.M.C. 1518, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18271 (D. Alaska 1982).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

YON DER HEYDT, Chief Judge.

This cause comes before the court on defendant Daiei Fishing Co., Ltd.’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s 10th claim for relief for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Jurisdiction exists pursuant to 16 U.S.C. §§ 1860(b), 1861(d) and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1333, 1345 and 1355.

I. FACTS

Coast Guard personnel boarded the DAIEI MARU NO. 2 on April 27, 1982 approximately 168 miles west of St. Matthew Island and within the fishery conservation zone established by the Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1801-1882 (Supp.1980). The Coast Guard noted activity in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1857, including failure by the vessel to stop when instructed to do so (16 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1857(1)(D) and (H), 50 C.F.R. § 611.6); interference by the vessel with its search and apprehension (16 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1857(1)(E) and (H), 50 C.F.R. §§ 611.7(a)(5) and (8)) and discrepancies in the logging of daily catch, disposition of catch and cumulative daily catch for several species of fish (16 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1857; 50 C.F.R. §§ 611.9(d)(2)(vi), (vii) and (viii)). The Coast Guard then seized the vessel.

II. MOTION TO DISMISS

In its first nine claims for relief, plaintiff alleges the foregoing violations by the defendant vessel. By reason of the violations alleged in claims one through nine, plaintiff claims the vessel became subject to forfeiture pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 1860(a). In its tenth claim for relief, plaintiff alleges the defendant Daiei Fishing Co., Ltd., the vessel’s owner, is personally liable for the violations of the vessel and therefore liable in personam for a monetary penalty equal to the value of the vessel with her fishing gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores and cargo.

A motion to dismiss should not be granted unless it appears to a certainty that the plaintiff would be entitled to no relief under any state of facts which could be proven. Alonzo v. ACF Property Management Inc., 643 F.2d 578, 579 (9th Cir.1981). The court finds that it lacks statutory authority under 16 U.S.C. §§ 1861(d)(4) and 1860(b) to enter an in personam judgment against Daiei Fishing Co., Ltd. Consequently, no state of facts exists which, if proven, would entitle the plaintiff to the relief sought and the motion should be granted.

In order to effect the purposes of the FCMA, Congress established a comprehensive scheme of remedies for violations. The major remedies include civil penalties assessed against a person by the Secretary of Commerce or his designee after notice and hearing in an amount not to exceed $25,000 for each violation, 16 U.S.C. § 1858(a); criminal punishment of persons guilty of violations by a fine not to exceed $50,000 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, 16 U.S.C. § 1859(b); and civil forfeitures of any fishing vessel used (including its fishing gear, furniture, appurtenances, stores and cargo), and any fish taken in connection with a violation, 16 U.S.C. § 1860(a). All or part of any vessel may be forfeited pursuant to a civil proceeding. Id. Nowhere in the statute, however, does Congress authorize this court to enter an in personam judgment against the owners of a vessel found in violation. Nor does the legislative history of the Act suggest any such intent. See generally S.Rep. No. 711, March 24,1976, 94th Cong. 2d Sess. 57, reprinted in 1976 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad. News 593, 681.1

Plaintiff argues the decision in United States v. Kaiyo Maru No. 53, 503 F.Supp. [36]*361075 (D.Alaska 1980) supports its assertion of an in personam statutory remedy against the defendant owner. In Kaiyo Maru No. 53, the court concluded that the violations by the vessel and its owners did not warrant an entire forfeiture of the vessel. Thus the court assessed a monetary penalty of $450,000 against the vessel. U.S. v. Kaiyo Maru No. 53, 503 F.Supp. at 1090. The vessel’s owners were required to pay that penalty. Id. It is emphasized, however, that the forfeiture by the owners of a monetary penalty was in lieu of a forfeiture of the entire vessel or any part thereof. The court’s earlier reasoning is instructive:

The bond or other security must be conditioned upon delivering the property to the appropriate court upon its order or by paying in the monetary value of such property pursuant to court order. This suggests that in the event that a fishing vessel is discharged on bond, the court, upon declaring forfeiture, may declare that the vessel be delivered up in execution of the decree or that the monetary value of the vessel be paid over on court order.

U.S. v. Kaiyo Maru No. 53, 503 F.Supp. at 1089 (emphasis supplied). Plaintiff’s argument that the only thing which prevented the court from entering an in personam judgment against the owner was the failure of the government to join the owner as defendant finds no support in the decision.

Plaintiff also argues that a close reading of the Act shows that Congress contemplated in personam relief against owners in actions for forfeiture. It directs the court’s attention to 16 U.S.C. § 1857

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Bluebook (online)
562 F. Supp. 34, 1984 A.M.C. 1518, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18271, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-daiei-maru-no-2-akd-1982.