Global Marine Exploration, Inc. v. Unidentified, Wrecked & (For Finders-Right Purposes) Abandoned Sailing Vessel

• Decision Date: 29 June 2018
• Docket Number: Case No: 6:16-cv-1742-Orl-KRS
• Citation: 348 F.Supp.3d 1221
• Parties: GLOBAL MARINE EXPLORATION, INC., Plaintiff, v. The UNIDENTIFIED, WRECKED AND (FOR FINDERS-RIGHT PURPOSES) ABANDONED SAILING VESSEL, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

348 F.Supp.3d 1221

GLOBAL MARINE EXPLORATION, INC., Plaintiff,

v.The UNIDENTIFIED, WRECKED AND (FOR FINDERS-RIGHT PURPOSES) ABANDONED SAILING VESSEL, Defendant.

Case No: 6:16-cv-1742-Orl-KRS

United States District Court, M.D. Florida, Orlando Division.

Signed June 29, 2018

Barry R. Chapman, Barry R. Chapman Law Firm, Valdosta, GA, for Plaintiff.

ORDER

(And Directions to the Clerk of Court)

KARLA R. SPAULDING, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

This cause came on for consideration without oral argument on the following motions filed herein:

                MOTION: CLAIMANT REPUBLIC OF FRANCE MOTION TO
                DISMISS (Doc. No. 75)
                FILED: September 26, 2017
                MOTION: CLAIMANT STATE OF FLORIDA'S AMENDED
                DAUBERT MOTION TO EXCLUDE EXPERT TESTIMONY
                OF PLAINTIFF'S WITNESSES (Doc. No. 96)
                FILED: February 23, 2018
                MOTION: CLAIMANT STATE OF FLORIDA'S MOTION FOR
                PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Doc. No. 97)
                FILED: February 23, 2018
                

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND.

This is an in rem action involving competing claims to a shipwreck (the res ) that Plaintiff, Global Marine Exploration, Inc. ("GME"), discovered near Cape Canaveral, Florida. The parties dispute the identity of the res , but the Republic of France claims that it is la Trinité , the flagship of the Royal Navy of France 1565 Fleet of Captain Jean Ribault. As discussed below, the sinking of la Trinité played a pivotal role in France's abandonment of attempts to take possession of Florida and the eventual dominance of Spain in colonizing Florida.

GME instituted its in rem action in this Court on October 5, 2016. Doc. No. 1. It named as the Defendant the "Unidentified, Abandoned Shipwrecked Vessel, if any, its apparel, tackle, appurtenances and cargo, if any, located within an area enclosed by a line running from 28.558002° -80.509884° to 28.520537° -80.557306° to 28.467799° -80.469405° and returning to 28.473599° - 80.532415° ...." ("Defendant Vessel"). Doc. No. 1, at 1. GME alleged that it discovered the Defendant Vessel and that, upon information and belief, "any and all efforts by any previous owners and/or other parties and/or other entities to salvage the wreckage have been long since abandoned, with the exception of looters, who make no effort to report or document their work." Id. ¶ 5. It alleged that, "[w]hile some of the artifacts are believed ... to be from the 1550 to 1650 time period, the ages and identities of the vessels making up the Defendant Site have not been determined ... because [GME] has yet to find any object in the salvage area that might be used to accurately date and identify the wreckage." Id. ¶ 11. GME set forth four (4) claims: (1) a possessory and ownership claim pursuant to the law of finds, whereby GME claimed entitlement to an adjudication of "title and ownership in the Defendant Site, and her artifacts, and the right to recover the Defendant Site and her artifacts," id. ¶¶ 16-17; (2) a salvage award claim pursuant to the law of salvage, whereby GME claimed entitlement to a "liberal salvage award" for its salvage services, id. ¶¶ 18-20; (3) a request for a declaratory judgment that, among other things, declares that no government has the authority to interfere with GME's exploration and recovery of the Defendant Site, id. ¶¶ 21-23; and (4) a claim for a preliminary injunction prohibiting any rival salvors or entity from conducting search and/or recovery operations at the Defendant Site, id. ¶¶ 24-26.

Upon motion by GME, the Court then issued a warrant of arrest in rem . Doc. Nos. 10, 11. The U.S. Marshals Service arrested the Defendant Vessel constructively by seizing a number of salvaged artifacts. The U.S. Marshals Service subsequently surrendered those artifacts to GME, which the Court had appointed as substitute custodian. Doc. No. 14, 15. GME then complied with the publication requirement of Local Admiralty Rule 7.03(d)(1). No claims or answers were filed in the 14 days following publication, and GME represented that it was unaware of any intervenors in this action. Thus, upon motion by GME, the Court issued a Clerk's default against the Defendant Vessel. Doc. Nos. 17, 19, 20.

Less than a week after the Clerk's default was entered, the Republic of France appeared in this action. It filed a verified claim to the Defendant Vessel in which it contended that the res is from the French Royal Fleet of 1565 commanded by Jean Ribault and sunk by a hurricane in the vicinity of what is now Cape Canaveral, Florida. Doc. No. 26. In its claim, it asserted that it had not abandoned its sovereignty over the vessel. Id. At the same time, the Republic of France also filed a motion to set aside the Clerk's default, which was granted. Doc. Nos. 30, 34. A few days later, the State of Florida appeared in the case and filed a verified claim to the Defendant Vessel. Doc. Nos. 36, 41. The State of Florida made clear that its claim was expressly subordinate to the claim of the Republic of France and that it supported the Republic of France's claim to the Defendant Vessel. It contended that, if the res is not a sovereign ship of the Republic of France, the State of Florida would be its owner because it is embedded in the sovereign submerged lands of the State of Florida and has been abandoned by its previous owner. Doc. No. 41.

In its motion to set aside the Clerk's default, the Republic of France filed documents suggesting that GME may have made certain misrepresentations in its verified complaint and that GME was not properly in possession of the artifacts it presented to the Court for constructive arrest. Accordingly, I issued an Order to Show Cause requiring GME to show cause, in writing, why the orders granting its motion for issuance of a warrant of arrest in rem and its motion to be appointed substitute custodian should not be vacated as having been improvidently granted. Doc. No. 33.

Thereafter, I held a telephonic status conference. Doc. No. 43. Following the status conference, I entered an Order vacating my previous Order appointing GME as the substitute custodian and appointing the State of Florida, Bureau of Archaeological Research as the new substitute custodian in this case. In that Order, I also prohibited further recovery activity on the Defendant Vessel pending further Order of the Court. Doc. Nos. 45-46.

In the meantime, GME filed a response to my Order to Show Cause. Doc. No. 37. The Republic of France and the State of Florida replied to that response, Doc. Nos. 54, 56, after which GME supplemented its response with additional evidence, Doc. Nos. 55, 57-63. The State of Florida also filed an affidavit in which it detailed certain apparent problems with the manner in which GME transferred the artifacts to the State of Florida pursuant to my Order appointing the State of Florida as the new substitute custodian. Doc. No. 64.

Following an additional telephonic status conference, I withdrew the Order to Show Cause, subject to reconsideration, if appropriate, after the issue of subject matter jurisdiction was resolved. Doc. No. 68. I also set a schedule for the briefing of the Republic of France's motion to dismiss, as well as a schedule for discovery and summary judgment briefing as to the State of Florida's claim. Doc. Nos. 70, 71.

Ultimately, the Republic of France filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), arguing that the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction because the res is the French Royal Vessel la Trinité and has immunity from GME's claims. Doc. No. 75. It supported its motion with more than 800 pages of evidence, including declarations from (1) Marie-Laurence Navarri, a Magistrate Judge of the Republic of France and Attaché for Judicial Affairs of the Embassy of France to the United States (Doc. No. 75-1); (2) Frank Lestringant, a historian and Professeur des Universités at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne (Doc. Nos. 75-2 through 75-13, 81-14 through 81-29, and 104, at 5-14 (CM/ECF page numbers)¹ ); (3) Sylvie Soria Leluc, head of the Artillery Department at the Musée de l'Armée in Paris (Doc. No. 75-14); and James P. Delgado, Ph.D., RPA, a maritime archaeologist and maritime historian (Doc. Nos. 75-15 through 75-26, 81-1 through 81-13, 84-1, at 4-20 (CM/ECF page numbers), and 104, at 15 through 25 (CM/ECF page numbers) ). The declarations of Lestringant and Delgado were supported by primary source materials (with translations) as well as excerpts from various treatises.

GME filed a response to the Republic of France's motion to dismiss. Doc. No. 79. It supported its motion with declarations from Dr. Robert H. Baer, a professional archaeologist (Doc. Nos. 79-1 and 79-2) and Robert F. Marx, a maritime archaeologist and historian (Doc. Nos. 79-3 through 79-4). It also filed an excerpt from what appears to be the introduction to a translation of a primary source document (Doc. No. 79-5), excerpts from two treatises (Doc. Nos. 79-6 and 105² ), and a journal article (Doc. Nos. 79-7 and 79-8). With leave of court, the Republic of France filed a reply, Doc. No. 84, which was supported by a declaration from the Republic of France's counsel (Doc. No. 84-1) and a declaration from John de Bry, Ph.D., an historian (Doc. No. 84-2).

After filing an answer (Doc. No. 72) and conducting discovery, the State of Florida filed a Daubert motion to exclude GME's experts (Doc. No. 96) and a motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. No. 97), both of which were supported by evidence. GME filed responses in opposition to both motions. Doc. Nos. 98, 99.

Before the Republic of France and the State of Florida filed their claims, GME consented to a magistrate judge conducting all proceedings in this case, including trial, the entry of judgment, and all post-trial proceedings. Doc. No. 6. Based on that consent, the presiding District Judge referred the case to me for all purposes. Doc. No. 8. The Republic of France and the State of Florida ratified that consent after they appeared in the case. Doc. No. 47. Thus, the pending motions are properly before me, and they are ripe for review.

After...