Amador v. Torres (In re Torres)
| Decision Date | 31 March 2021 |
| Docket Number | Civil No. 17-1502 (DRD),Civil No. 17-2145 (DRD),Civil No. 17-2168 (DRD),Civil No. 17-2050 (DRD) |
| Parties | RICARDO VÉLEZ AMADOR; ET AL., Plaintiffs, v. GUILLERMO GARCÍA TORRES, ET AL., Defendants. IN THE MATTER OF: GUILLERMO GARCIA TORRES; HIS WIFE ROSA MONTERO-VARGAS AND THE CONJUGAL PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THEM, FOR EXONERATION FROM OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AS OWNER OF THE M/V LA NENA II Plaintiffs-Petitioners. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico |
Pending before the Court are the following motions: Plaintiffs, Third-Party Plaintiffs, Cross-Claimants and Claimants in the Limitation Action, Claude McCann, Sylvie Laurin, Julie McCann, minor JHM, Vincent Boileau, and minor SBC (hereinafter the "McCann Group"); Third Party Plaintiffs, Counter-Claimants and Claimants in the Limitation Action, Sharisse J. Johnson and Lourdes Beth Rodriguez (hereinafter the "Johnson-Rodríguez group"); Claimants in the Limitation Action Mario R. Ortega, Argyro Ortega, minor AGO, and minor MAO; Claimants in the Limitation Action, Gerardo Hernández, Evelyn Meléndez, minor C.H.M., Walter Ortega, Merlyn Meléndez, and minor B.O.M.; Claimant in the Limitation Action, Somara Soto Rodríguez's (collectively, the "Claimants") (1) Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Law In Support Thereof (Docket No. 172)1 and (2) Joint Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Deciding that the Insurer and the Captain of the Charter Tourist Boat La Nena II are not Entitled to Limit their Liability Under the Shipowners' Limitation of Liability Act and Memorandum of Law in Support Of Docket No. 174)2; and Plaintiffs-Petitioners, Guillermo García-Torres, his wife Rosa Montero-Vargas, and the Conjugal Partnership Between Them, as owners of the M/V LA NENA II, and Guardian Insurance Company's (3) Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 177)3.
For the reasons stated herein, Claimants' Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Law In Support Thereof (Docket No. 172) and Joint Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Deciding that the Insurer and the Captain of the Charter Tourist Boat La Nena II are not Entitled to Limit their Liability Under the Shipowners' Limitation of Liability Act and Memorandum of Law in Support Of Docket No. 174) are hereby GRANTED. In turn, Plaintiffs-Petitioners' Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 177) is hereby DENIED.
The underlying petition filed by Plaintiffs-Petitioners seeks to limit their potential liability as owners of the M/V LA NENA II (hereinafter, "LA NENA II"). Plaintiffs-Petitioners' exposure to liability stems from a collision between LA NENA II and the recreational vessel M/V ANDREA GABRIELA (hereinafter, "ANDREA GABRIELA"), during a voyage between La Parguera village to the nearby Bioluminescent Bay on the evening of July 25, 2017. During the voyage to theBioluminescent Bay, LA NENA II was struck on her port aft quarter by ANDREA GABRIELA. Since the collision, four (4) tort cases have been filed in the District Court to recover damages suffered as a result thereof. On September 1, 2017, Plaintiffs-Petitioners filed a Complaint-Petition for Exoneration From or Limitation o Liability (consolidated case no. 17-2168 Docket No. 5).4 The United States Limitation of Shipowner's Liability Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501-30512, and Rule F of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions, Supplemental Rule F, provide for ship owners to seek this type of liability limitation for potential fault or negligence stemming from an accident similar to that between LA NENA II and ANDREA GABRIELA.
On March 11, 2020, Claimants filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and Memorandum of Law In Support Thereof (Docket No. 172)5 and Joint Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Deciding that the Insurer and the Captain of the Charter Tourist Boat La Nena II are not Entitled to Limit their Liability Under the Shipowners' Limitation of Liability Act and Memorandum of Law in Support Of Docket No. 174)6. Plaintiffs-Petitioners filed on that same day, a Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 177).7
In synthesis, the Claimants seek dismissal of the Plaintiffs-Petitioners' Complaint-Petition as LA NENA II was not manned in accordance with law and regulation. Specifically, Claimants aver that at the time of the incident, LA NENA II was operated in violation of her Certificate ofInspection by operating without a qualified deckhand. Instead, LA NENA II was being operated with a master, José Hernández-Zapata and a "swimmer", Juan Pablo Quiñones Espinosa. Claimants conclude that:
". . . based on numerous admissions that LA NENA was knowingly allowed to sail undermanned in violation of her Certificate of Inspection and in violation of the mandate that she not leave the dock, Exoneration and Limitation should also be denied outright even absent the presumption arising from the Pennsylvania Rule."
Id. Proper analysis of the parties' motions require scrutiny of the underlying legal framework. However, as all motions are based on the same controversies regarding the Exoneration or Limitation of Liability as to LA NENA II, the Court will discuss them simultaneously.
The following factual findings are taken from the parties' statements of undisputed facts, and supported documentation. Upon careful review of the record, the Court finds the following facts are undisputed:
A. M/V LA NENA II
1. At all times material to this action, Mrs. Rosa Montero-Vargas was, and continues to be, the wife of Mr. Guillermo García-Torres. See Mr. García-Torres' Deposition, Docket No. 200, Exhibit 1, pp. 7- 8.
2. At all times material hereto, Mr. García-Torres was and is a resident of Lajas, Puerto Rico. See Docket No. 1, ¶ 3.
3. Mr. García-Torres is the registered owner of vessel LA NENA II since 1998. See id., p. 47; see also Certificate of Inspection, Docket No. 175, Exhibit 1; see also Credentials of the Master of M/V LA NENA II, GIC 23, Docket No. 200, Exhibit 6.
4. On the date of the incident and for the past 22 years, Mr. García-Torres has held a U.S. Coast Guard Captain's license which was current and will remain valid until the year 2021 and which has allowed him to act as Captain on LA NENA II. See Mr. García-Torres' Deposition, Docket No. 178, Exhibit 15, pp. 26-27.
5. Mr. García-Torres operates Torres Boat Rental since 1986. See Docket No. 200, Exhibit 1, p. 13.6. Mr. García-Torres testified that he performs the duties of a Captain on LA NENA II about 30-40 times a year. See id.
7. At the time of the incident, Mr. García-Torres resided about three (3) minutes travel time by car from LA NENA II's berth. See id., p. 23.
8. The LA NENA II is a Baja passenger vessel that bears official number PR1502HH, of 6 gross tons; 31.0 feet in overall length; fiberglass hull; 160 horsepower; built in 1993, and duly inspected and authorized to navigate by the United States Coast Guard. See Docket No. 5, ¶8; see also Certificate of Inspection, Exhibit No. 1 of the instant Opinion and Order.
9. LA NENA II is less than 100 gross tons, and is considered a "small passenger vessel" subject to inspection by the United States Coast Guard, pursuant to 46 C.F.R §2.01-7 (Table 2.01-7(a), Column 3 (ii)(A)) and §176.103. See Exhibit No. 1 of the instant Opinion and Order.
10. A Certificate of Inspection ("COI") was issued on October 5, 2012 by the United States Coast Guard as to LA NENA II, official no. PR1502HH. The duration of said document was from October 5, 2012 and October 5, 2017. See id.
11. The LA NENA II, as described in the Certificate of Inspection produced by the United States Coast Guard, qualifies the vessel as a harbor vessel limited to a specific route:
See id.
12. The manning requirements stated in the Certificate of Inspection of LA NENA II requires that she be operated by one Master and one Deckhand when carrying passengers. See id.13. According to the Certificate of Inspection, LA NENA II "vessel's voyages are limited to no more than thirty (30) minutes in duration." See id.
14. The Certificate of Inspection of LA NENA II requires that the vessel be manned by two (2) crew members. See Docket No. 178, Exhibit 14, p. 118; see also Exhibit No. 1.
15. No more than thirty-two (32) persons in total are allowed at LA NENA II during a voyage. See Exhibit No. 1.
16. The Certificate of Inspection requires that one of the two crew members in the vessel during a voyage be a deckhand. See Docket No. 178, Exhibit 14, p. 118; see also Exhibit No. 1.
17. Mr. José Hernández-Zapata, Captain of LA NENA II during the subject voyage, is aware of the fact that a deckhand is a...
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