Dobrovich v. Hotchkiss, 3:98 CV 344(GLG).

• Decision Date: 27 July 1998
• Docket Number: No. 3:98 CV 344(GLG).,3:98 CV 344(GLG).
• Citation: 14 F.Supp.2d 232
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: George DOBROVICH and Judith Dobrovich, Plaintiffs, v. Albert K. HOTCHKISS & A.K. Hotchkiss, Inc., Defendants.

14 F.Supp.2d 232

George DOBROVICH and Judith Dobrovich, Plaintiffs, v. Albert K. HOTCHKISS & A.K. Hotchkiss, Inc., Defendants.

No. 3:98 CV 344(GLG).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

July 27, 1998.

Ralph J. Mellusi, Tabak & Mellusi, New York City, George D'Amico, Miller, Rosnick, D'Amico & De Lucia, P.C., Bridgeport, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Richard A. Roberts, Kerry E. Knobelsdorff, Nuzzo & Roberts, L.L.C., Cheshire, CT, for Defendants.

OPINION

GOETTEL, District Judge.

The defendants move to dismiss this action bought in admiralty for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.¹ Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). The plaintiff, George Dobrovich, was Captain of a vessel known as the John E. Pfriem which was owned and operated by his employer, the Aquaculture Foundation. On May 5, 1995, the date of injury, the vessel was being outfitted, repaired and made ready for scheduled voyages. (The voyages were daily excursions which brought the vessel back to the property at the end of the day). While coming down a ramp, as will be more fully described hereafter, the plaintiff slipped and fell, sustaining substantial injuries.

Following the accident, the employer, Aquaculture, filed an action in admiralty seeking limitation of liability. In re Aquaculture, No. 3:96CV0865(GLG) (D.Conn.). The plaintiff filed Jones Act seamen's claims in that proceeding. A second action was commenced by these plaintiffs against. Leslie Hamel, the owner of the property. Dobrovich v. Hamel, No. 3:97CV0467(GLG) (D.Conn.). She had acquired the property two years prior to the accident from her father, the defendant in this case, Albert K. Hotchkiss.² Despite the transfer of title, Mr. Hotchkiss continued to reside on the property and conduct his marine construction business from that location. His company, A.K. Hotchkiss, Inc., also a defendant herein, was incorporated some 30 years ago, and it appears that the ramp on which the accident took place was designed, constructed, and maintained by these defendants (which is the basis of the plaintiff's claims against them for negligence, breach of warranty and product liability).³ The sole basis for federal jurisdiction is allegedly in admiralty.⁴

The John E. Pfriem had used the Hotchkiss/Hamel property as its base of operations for many years, apparently without charge. They had permission to moor, outfit and repair their vessel as well as, of course, access to the vessel from the property. The property has a bulkhead on its waterfront side. The ramp there led down to a series of floating docks. It is then necessary to traverse the floating docks in order to reach the vessel. There is a dispute between the parties as to how long a distance had to be travelled over the floating docks, with the plaintiffs' maintaining it was only some 25-50 feet and the defendants' claiming it to be further.⁵ The plaintiffs contend that the ramp was equivalent to a ship's "gangway," as that term is understood in maritime law, and, consequently, there is admiralty jurisdiction. The defendants claim that, since the ramp was permanently affixed to land and led not to the vessel but to a dock, there is no admiralty jurisdiction.⁶

The floating docks (and there are perhaps five or six of them) are moveable and can be configured in different fashions. Indeed, in the winter when the water freezes, the floating docks are entirely removed and the ramp is raised into a horizontal position.

As a general proposition, the admiralty courts have found that a ship's gangway is the dividing line which separates sea based claims from land based claims. Usually, however, docks, piers, and other permanent attachments to the land are considered extensions of the land and, therefore, injuries occurring on them, unless caused by the vessel, do not fall within admiralty jurisdiction.

For a tort claim to be within the federal court's admiralty jurisdiction, the accident must have occurred on navigable waters (the "situs" or "locality" test) and must bear a significant relationship to traditional maritime activity. Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland, 409 U.S. 249, 268, 93 S.Ct. 493, 34 L.Ed.2d 454 (1972); Sisson v. Ruby, 497 U.S. 358, 364, 110 S.Ct. 2892, 111 L.Ed.2d 292 (1990); Foremost Insurance Co. v. Richardson, 457 U.S. 668, 102 S.Ct. 2654, 73 L.Ed.2d 300 (1982); Keene Corp. v. United States, 700 F.2d 836, 843 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 864, 104 S.Ct. 195, 78 L.Ed.2d 171 (1983). An injury suffered on land can fall under the Admiralty Extension Act of 1948, 46 U.S.C.App. § 740, if the injury is caused by a vessel. Victory Carriers, Inc. v. Law, 404 U.S. 202, 210-211, 92 S.Ct. 418, 30 L.Ed.2d 383 (1971). When it is the ship's gangway that is defective, it can be said that the vessel has caused the injuries even though the plaintiff has never reached the vessel. On the other hand, it is clear that structures such as piers and docks permanently affixed to land are extensions of the land and are not navigational vessels. Michigan Mutual Liability Co. v. Arrien, 344 F.2d 640 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 835, 86 S.Ct. 80, 15 L.Ed.2d 78 (1965). This is true even when the pier or dock extends onto or over navigable waters. Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., 395 U.S. 352, 360, 89 S.Ct. 1835, 23 L.Ed.2d 360 (1969).

The issue before this Court is whether a ramp leading to floating docks, which must be traversed to reach the location where the ship is moored, should not be considered as an extension of land since the docks are moveable. Counsel have not cited, and we have not found, any case having the exact facts presented here. However, there are other analogous cases which lead us to conclude that a ramp giving access to a dock, albeit a floating one, is not the equivalent of a ship's gangway.

Floating docks are for legal purposes similar to a floating dry dock. Floating dry docks are mobile and can be towed across navigable waters. However, they are not considered within admiralty jurisdiction if they are more or less permanently affixed to the shore, since they are not travelling along navigable waters. J.M.L. Trading Corp. v. Marine Salvage Corp., ...