Muer, In re
| Decision Date | 16 July 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-2111,96-2111 |
| Citation | 146 F.3d 410 |
| Parties | In re Charles A. MUER. ESTATE OF Charles A. MUER, Deceased, Plaintiff-Appellee, C.A. Muer Corporation, Plaintiff, v. Robert A. KARBEL, Personal Representative of the Estate of George F. Drummey and Lynne Drummey, Intervenor-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Jeffrey T. Stewart (argued and briefed), Seikaly & Stewart, Southfield, MI, for Intervenor-Appellant.
John L. Cote' (argued and briefed), Curtis R. Hadley (briefed), Willingham & Cote', East Lansing, MI, Norbert B. Leonard (briefed), Leonard, Kruse & Zlatopolsky, Bloomfield Hills, MI, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Before: CONTIE, DAUGHTREY, and COLE, Circuit Judges.
COLE, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which DAUGHTREY, J., joined. CONTIE, J. (pp. 419-420), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part.
This case involves a petition by a vessel owner for a limitation of liability under the Limitation of Liability Act ("LOLA"), a federal statute intended to limit the liability of vessel owners who are not negligent and have no privity to or knowledge of the negligent cause of a maritime accident. The petition was filed in federal court in response to a wrongful death action which was asserted under general maritime law, and alternatively under the Death on the High Seas Act ("DOHSA"), in Michigan state court. The appeal raises several issues: (1) whether the district court erred by not granting the claimant-appellant summary judgment on the entire LOLA action; (2) whether the district court erred in granting the petitionerappellee partial summary judgment on the appellant's general maritime claim; (3) whether the district court erred in not setting aside its order granting partial summary judgment on the maritime claims; (4) whether the district court erred in reaching a DOHSA question in the context of this LOLA action; and (5) whether the district court erred in deciding that DOHSA is an exclusive remedy and precludes any award of damages for pre-death pain and suffering.
For the following reasons, we affirm the district court in part and reverse and remand in part.
This case arises from a wrongful death action which was initiated following the accidental sinking of a pleasure boat in a storm off the Florida coast on March 13, 1993. On the boat when it sank were four individuals: Charles Muer, his wife Betty Muer and George and Lynne Drummey ("the Drummeys"). Charles Muer was the founder and principal stockholder of C.A. Muer Corporation, a restaurant enterprise with locations in Florida and Michigan. The boat was owned by Charles Muer until just before the final voyage at which time it was transferred to the C.A. Muer Corporation. Charles Muer was the captain of the vessel on its voyage.
Robert A. Karbel ("Karbel," "claimant" or "appellant"), personal representative of the Drummeys' estate, filed a wrongful death action under general maritime law, and alternatively under DOHSA, in Michigan state court in December 1994.
The defendants in the state case, the Estate of Charles A. Muer ("Muer estate," "appellee" or "petitioner") and C.A. Muer Corporation, filed a complaint in federal court in Michigan in April 1995 seeking exoneration or limitation of liability under the Limitation of Liability Act ("LOLA"), 46 U.S.C.App. § 181 et seq. The district court permitted Karbel to intervene in the federal action and stayed the state court proceedings in August 1995. In October 1995, Karbel filed an answer to the Muer estate's petition together with a claim that was identical to the state court complaint.
In November 1995, the Muer estate moved for partial summary judgment on the basis that the claimant had not come forward with sufficient evidence to establish that the accident happened within one marine league of shore, a required element of the claimant's general maritime claim, and therefore the claim could not survive summary judgment. In the same motion, the Muer estate contended that DOHSA applied to the case because of the location of the accident, and that the district court should grant the estate partial summary judgment as to the wrongful death damages under DOHSA because the claimant had already asserted that there were no economic losses. The Muer estate explicitly did not seek summary judgment with respect to the claims for the decedents' pain and suffering.
In December 1995, Karbel moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint for limitation, claiming that limitation of liability was only intended to protect vicarious defendants and that his allegations involved active negligence by the defendants. Karbel also submitted a motion to stay the federal court proceedings and to lift the stay of the state court proceedings so he could proceed in the state court action. Accompanying Karbel's motion was an "Offer to Stipulate to Jurisdiction and other Matters in Connection with Stay of Proceedings."
In a March 14, 1996 order, the district court ruled that (1) the claimant did not produce evidence sufficient to support a factual finding that the boat accident occurred inside of one marine league (three miles) of shore and thus the petitioner was deserving of summary judgment on the general maritime claims because DOHSA necessarily governed the case if the accident did not occur within one marine league of the Florida shore; (2) DOHSA barred noneconomic damages (but specifically reserved the issue of conscious pain and suffering damages as a supplement to remedies under DOHSA); (3) Karbel's allegations of active negligence did not bar the LOLA action; and (4) lifting the stay of the state court proceedings, pursuant to Karbel's stipulation that the district court retained continuing jurisdiction to decide the limitation of liability questions raised in the Muer estate's federal complaint.
On April 26, 1996, the Muer estate filed another summary judgment motion seeking a ruling on the remaining issue, the conscious pain and suffering claims. On April 29, 1996, this court issued a decision in Bickel v. Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., 83 F.3d 127 (6th Cir.1996), in which it held that DOHSA barred conscious pain and suffering damages as a supplement to DOHSA's remedies.
On May 2, 1996, Karbel moved for dismissal of the Muer estate's summary judgment motion on the basis that the district court had lifted the stay of the state court proceedings and that the only proper place to litigate The district court entered an order on July 31, 1996, concluding that the evidence was speculative whether the boat had reached a marine league from shore prior to sinking and dismissed Karbel's motion after concluding that there were still no genuine issues of material fact and that the Muer estate was deserving of judgment as a matter of law. It thereby ruled that DOHSA should continue to govern the case.
issues not particular to limitation of liability was the state court. At the same time, Karbel moved to set aside the district court's March 14, 1996 order to the extent that it held that as a matter of law the vessel had sunk more than three miles from shore. Karbel argued that allegedly newly discovered evidence relative to the speed of the vessel made it possible that the boat had reached a point within three miles of shore.
In that same order, the district court ruled on other remaining pending motions. It held that (1) deference to the state court on the issues presented by the petitioner's pain and suffering summary judgment motion was not necessary; (2) pursuant to this court's decision in Bickel, DOHSA barred the conscious pain and suffering claims; and (3) because there were no other damage claims, the appellee was entitled to final judgment. Karbel subsequently filed this appeal.
On August 29, 1996, the Bickel panel substituted a new opinion, vacating the portion which had held that conscious pain and suffering damages are non-recoverable under DOHSA. See Bickel v. Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd., 96 F.3d 151, 154 (6th Cir.1996) ("Bickel II "), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 770, 136 L.Ed.2d 716 (1997). After the second Bickelopinion, Karbel filed a motion for remand or other relief with this court on the basis that it might be preferable to have the district court first address the legal question of recoverability of pain and suffering damages. In November 1996, this court denied Karbel's motion for remand.
The Limitation of Liability Act ("LOLA"), originally enacted in 1851, permits a vessel owner to limit its liability to the value of the vessel and its then pending freight, provided that the loss or damage is incurred without the "privity or knowledge" of the owner. The Act was passed "to encourage ship building and to induce capitalists to invest money in this branch of industry." Norwich & N.Y. Transp. Co. v. Wright, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 104, 121, 20 L.Ed. 585 (1871). The Act achieves this purpose by "exempting innocent shipowners from liability, beyond the amount of their interest." Id.When faced with liability for a maritime accident, a vessel owner may file a petition in federal court seeking limitation of liability under LOLA. Provided that the accident in question occurred without the owner's "privity or knowledge," LOLA limits the owner's liability to the value of his interest in the vessel and its pending freight. 46 U.S.C.App. § 183(a).
After the vessel owner deposits with the district court an amount representing the value of the vessel and its freight ("limitation fund"), the district court stays all related claims against the vessel owner pending in any other forum and directs all potential claimants to file their claims with the district court within a specified time. 46 U.S.C.App. § 185; Supp. R. for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims F(3), F(4); see also ...
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