Ramirez v. US

Decision Date17 May 1991
Docket NumberNo. 88-784-Civ-T-10C.,88-784-Civ-T-10C.
PartiesHector F. RAMIREZ, Wilfredo Riquete Molina, Benjamin Puche-Daza, Jesus Chancone-Andrade, Andres Ruiz Gonzalez, Jose Vergara Galvis, Anton Montan, and Jose Martinez-Rodriguez, Plaintiffs, and Asociacion de Morinos Professionales and Delta of St. Petersburg, Inc., Intervening Plaintiffs, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant.
CourtU.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

J. Michael Shea, Tampa, Fla., for plaintiff.

Warren Zimmerman, Asst. U.S. Atty., Tampa, Fla., Damon C. Miller, Torts Branch, Civ. Div., U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JAMES HARVEY, District Judge.

This case stems from the seizure by United States Customs agents of a vessel used for importing cocaine into the United States. Plaintiffs, the master and crew of the seized vessel, seek maritime liens for wages. In their first amended complaint, they ask the Court to set aside the United States Customs Service's denial of their wage claims, and to enter a judgment awarding them maritime liens. Intervening plaintiffs allege that they performed services on behalf of the vessel. They also seek maritime liens for their services.

The Court tried this case without a jury on March 6, 1991. After considering the pleadings, the testimony of the witnesses, the documents in evidence, and the arguments of the parties, the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT1

1. On May 3, 1988, United States Customs agents (Customs agents) seized an oceangoing vessel, the M/V Amazon Sky, under 21 U.S.C. § 881, because it was used to import cocaine into the United States.

2. Plaintiff Anton Montan (Captain Montan) served as Master of the M/V Amazon Sky.

3. Plaintiff Hector F. Ramirez served as Chief Officer on the vessel.

4. The remaining plaintiffs, excluding the intervening plaintiffs (hereinafter intervening plaintiffs), served as crew members on the vessel.

5. Customs agents removed plaintiffs from the vessel when they seized it, and prevented plaintiffs from removing anything other than their personal belongings.

6. Plaintiffs did not know that the M/V Amazon Sky carried cocaine. Accordingly, the United States never charged plaintiffs with any crime.

7. Among his other responsibilities as Master of the M/V Amazon Sky, Captain Montan served as paymaster.

8. Soon after Customs agents forced plaintiffs to leave the vessel, Captain Montan prepared an accurate summary of amounts owed to himself and his crew by Barellan International, Ltd. (Barellan), the vessel's owner. The following summary reflects amounts owed to each plaintiff:

                Hector F. Ramirez            $15,000.00
                Wilfredo Riquete Molina      $11,832.00
                Benjamin Puche-Daza          $ 3,186.67
                Jesus Chancone-Andrade       $16,200.00
                Andres Ruiz Gonzalez         $ 3,871.33
                Jose Vergara Galvis          $ 8,160.00
                Anton Montan                 $24,614.00
                Jose Martinez-Rodriguez      $ 3,903.00
                                             __________
                Total                        $86,767.00
                

9. Both Captain Montan and Ramirez had entered written, one-year employment contracts, although these one-page form contracts did not include all of the terms of the agreements between the men and Barellan.

10. Each of the remaining crew members had entered oral, one-year employment contracts.

11. At the time plaintiffs entered their agreements with Barellan, a custom prevailed among the owners of vessels in the Caribbean and their employees that for every twelve months an employee worked aboard a vessel, the employee would receive one month of vacation pay.

12. The agreements entered by Captain Montan and Ramirez included the custom that for every twelve months worked they would receive one month of vacation pay, even though the written employment contracts do not reflect this term. See Conclusion of Law 20.

13. The oral agreements entered by the remaining crew members also included the custom that for every twelve months worked they would receive one month of vacation pay.

14. At the time plaintiffs entered their agreements with Barellan, another custom prevailed among the owners of vessels in the Caribbean and their employees that once a vessel took on an employee, the owner agreed to pay the employee for twelve months of work, plus one month of vacation, even if the vessel did not require the employee's services for the entire year. The employee lost the right to collect full wages if the captain discharged the employee for poor work performance, if the captain became dissatisfied with the employee's conduct, or if the employee asked to leave the vessel before the end of the twelve-month period.

15. The written agreements entered by Captain Montan and Ramirez reflect, in part, the custom outlined in Finding of Fact 14. Paragraph 6 of both written contracts reads as follows:

Also it is agreed that if the Master of the vessel is not satisfied whit sic the seamans sic conduct on board or his ability or performance of his duties, he shall have the right to repatriate the seaman without any compensation or any other payment except his worked salary....

16. Even though the written employment contracts entered by Captain Montan and Ramirez do not reflect in its entirety the custom outlined in Finding of Fact 14, the agreements included that custom. See Conclusion of Law 20.

17. The oral agreements entered by the remaining crew members also included the custom outlined in Finding of Fact 14.

18. Captain Montan's summary of wages owed, which is detailed in Finding of Fact 8, includes vacation pay owed, wages for work performed aboard the vessel, and wages to which the crew became entitled under the terms of their contracts when the vessel no longer required their services. In addition, with regard to Captain Montan, the summary reflects $114.00 in out-of-pocket expenditures made on behalf of the vessel.

19. United States Customs Service (the Customs Service) records showed that Barellan owned the M/V Amazon Sky. Thus, on May 10, 1988, the Customs Service sent a letter to Barellan, advising that the Customs Service had seized the M/V Amazon Sky. The letter also described the procedures available if Barellan wished to petition for relief from the forfeiture.

20. The Customs Service did not send plaintiffs letters advising them of available procedures.

21. Beginning May 16, 1988, the United States Customs Service published in the Tampa Tribune for three consecutive weeks a notice that it had seized the M/V Amazon Sky and that it intended to sell the vessel.

22. On May 27, 1988, plaintiffs' counsel, J. Michael Shea, mailed to the Customs Service a letter stating that he represented plaintiffs, and that plaintiffs claimed an interest in the M/V Amazon Sky. Shea advised the Customs Service that plaintiffs sought a maritime lien for wages owed. Shea also noted in his letter that section 608 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, requires any claimant with an interest in a seized vessel to file a claim and a bond with the appropriate customs officer within twenty days from the date of the first publication of the notice of seizure. See 19 U.S.C. § 1608. He asked the Customs Service to waive the bond requirement because plaintiffs were indigent. Finally, he stated that he understood that the Customs Service would refer his clients' claims to the United States attorney, and that judicial forfeiture proceedings would soon begin.

23. Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit seeking a maritime lien for wages on June 2, 1988.

24. On June 6, 1988, the Customs Service declared the M/V Amazon Sky forfeited.

25. On July 7, 1988, Delta of St. Petersburg (Delta) filed a motion to intervene under Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Delta alleged in its motion that it had unloaded cargo from the M/V Amazon Sky, and that the vessel's owner had not yet paid for those services.

26. Also on July 7, 1988, Asociacion de Morinos (Asociacion) filed a motion to intervene under Rule 24(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Asociacion alleged in its motion that it had advanced money to a former crew member, and that the vessel's owner had agreed to reimburse Asociacion, but had failed to do so.

27. Because he had not heard from the Customs Service by August 24, 1988 regarding plaintiffs' claims, Shea directed Karen Pixton, a paralegal he employed, to call the Customs Service. On August 24, 1988, Pixton called the Customs Service and spoke with Virginia Walls, a clerk/typist employed by the Customs Service. Walls advised Pixton that the Customs Service had received Shea's May 27, 1988 letter.

28. Shea wrote to Damon Miller, defendant's counsel, on September 26, 1988. Shea noted in his letter that neither he nor his clients had yet received notice of impending forfeiture proceedings.

29. On October 14, 1988, Shea wrote to Richard Freedland, Assistant Regional Counsel for the Customs Service. In his letter, Shea stated that he had learned that the Customs Service planned to sell the M/V Amazon Sky in a summary administrative forfeiture sale. He questioned whether the Customs Service could lawfully do so in light of his clients' claims; yet, he indicated that he might not object to such a sale if the Customs Service would agree to pay his clients' claims out of the proceeds of the administrative sale.

30. The Customs Service sold the M/V Amazon Sky for $440,000 at a public auction on December 14, 1988.

31. Shea again wrote to Freedland on February 9, 1989. In his letter, Shea renewed his clients' wage claims.

32. On February 15, 1989, the Court granted the motions to intervene filed by Delta and Asociacion.

33. On April 27, 1989, Shea sent a letter to the Customs Service in which he detailed plaintiffs' claimed wages. He indicated that Captain Montan had derived the figures from his personal knowledge.

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