International Marine Research Institute v. Rumpel

• Decision Date: 09 June 2006
• Docket Number: No. 6:05-cv-626-Orl-31KRS.,6:05-cv-626-Orl-31KRS.
• Citation: 434 F.Supp.2d 1304
• Parties: INTERNATIONAL MARINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., Plaintiff, v. John H. RUMPEL, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida

434 F.Supp.2d 1304

INTERNATIONAL MARINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, INC., Plaintiff, v. John H. RUMPEL, Defendant.

No. 6:05-cv-626-Orl-31KRS.

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

June 9, 2006.

James W. Stroup, James W. Stroup, P.A., Ft. Lauderdale, FL, for Plaintiff.

Jason A. Rosenthal, The Rosenthal Law Firm, P.A., Orlando, FL, for Defendant.

ORDER

On May 19, 2006, the Honorable Karla R. Spaulding entered a Report and Recommendation (Doc. 82), recommending that the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 46) be granted in part and denied as part. Neither party having filed an objection thereto, it is hereby

ORDERED

that:

1. The Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge is adopted and confirmed;

2. The Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff International Marine Research Institute, Inc. (Doc. 82) is

GRANTED

as to the claim in Count One that Rumpel does not have a maritime lien against the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, in the amount of $300,000 and

DENIED

in all other respects;

3. Count Two is

DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

SPAULDING, United States Magistrate Judge.

TO THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

This cause came on for consideration without oral argument on Plaintiff International Marine Research Institute Inc.'s Dispositive Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 or, in the Alternative, Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Cause of Action Upon Which Relief May Be Granted, doe. no. 46, and Defendant John H. Rumpel's responses thereto, doc. nos. 62, 78.

International Marine Research Institute, Inc. (IMRI) filed the following documents in support of the present motion: (1) a Notice of Claim of Lien against the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, in the amount of $300,000, signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel; (2) a second Notice of Claim of Lien against the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, in the amount of $13,397.96, signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel; (3) a document entitled "Deed of Gift" pertaining to the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel; and (4) an unsworn letter addressed to Rumpel dated December 14, 2003, from Marilyn Roden, Executive Director for Rachel's Children International, Inc. (Rachel's).¹ Doc. No. 46.

In response to the motion, Rumpel submitted the following documents: (1) the Affidavit of John Rumpel and supporting exhibits; (2) excerpts from the deposition of Rumpel; (3) excerpts from the deposition of Roden; (4) excerpts from the deposition of James Scott; and (5) IMRI's unverified responses to certain interrogatories. Doc. No. 62. In a supplement to the response filed with permission of the Court, Rumpel submitted excerpts from the deposition of Russell Thomas, along with supporting exhibits. Doc. No. 78.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY.

IMRI filed a three-count Amended Complaint against Rumpel. Doc. No. 6. In Count One, IMRI seeks a declaratory judgment that Rumpel is not entitled to any maritime liens against the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, based on two Notices of Claim of Lien he recorded with the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard). In Count Two, IMRI seeks a declaratory judgment that Rumpel is not entitled to a maritime lien against a 53' Carver motoryacht, Official Number 1114341, based on a separate Notice of Claim of Lien. In Count Three, IMRI seeks a declaratory judgment as follows: (1) that Rumpel is not entitled to a maritime lien for any goods, services or money advanced as claimed in the three Notices of Claim of Lien; (2) that Rumpel exchanged the Vessel Victoria, along with $300,000, to acquire a 53' Carver motoryacht as "an even trade"; and (3) that Rumpel is liable to IMRI for slandering title to the Vessel Victoria.² Id. at 4-8.

IMRI attached to the Amended Complaint the following documents: (1) a December 14, 2003, letter from Roden to Rumpel acknowledging a loan for $300,000 made by Rumpel; (2) a Deed of Gift signed under penalty of perjury by Robert E. Darnaby regarding the Vessel Dock-Ter's Haven, Official Number 1114341; (3) a Deed of Gift signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel regarding the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331; (4) a Notice of Claim of Lien in the amount of $300,000 signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel regarding the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 1114341; (5) a Notice of Claim of Lien in the amount of $300,000 signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel regarding the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331; (6) a Notice of Claim of Lien in the amount of $13,397.96 signed under penalty of perjury by Rumpel regarding the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331; and (7) a Bill of Sale signed under penalty of perjury by Roden regarding the sale of the Vessel Dock-Tor's Haven, Official Number 1114341, from IMRI to Rumpel. Id.³

Rumpel filed a motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint for lack of standing, doc. no. 10, which was denied by the presiding district judge, the Honorable Gregory A. Presnell, doe. no. 17. Thereafter, Rumpel answered the Amended Complaint and asserted a three-count counterclaim against IMRI. Doc. No. 18. In Count One of the counterclaim, Rumpel seeks reformation of a promissory note to reflect that he loaned $300,000 to IMRI rather than to Rachel's, a sister charity of IMRI. In Count Two of the counterclaim, Rumpel alleges that IMRI defaulted on its obligations to repay the promissory note, as reformed. In Count Three of the counterclaim, Rumpel demands repayment of the $300,000 loan, plus interest. Id.

Discovery in this case is now closed, and all discovery issues have been resolved. Accordingly, the present motion for summary judgment or, in the alternative, to dismiss Rumpel's counterclaims is ripe for consideration. Judge Presnell referred the motion to me for issuance of a Report and Recommendation.

II. JURISDICTION.

To the extent IMRI seeks a declaratory judgment that Rumpel does not have maritime liens on the Vessel Victoria, federal jurisdiction is premised on the Commercial Instruments and Maritime Lien Act (CIMLA), 46 U.S.C. § 31301 et seq.⁴ Specifically, 46 U.S.C. § 31343(c)(2) provides, in relevant part, as follows:

The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction over a civil action in Admiralty to declare that a vessel is not subject to a lien claimed under subsection (b) of this section, or that the vessel is not subject to the notice of claim of lien, or both, regardless of the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties.⁵

III. STATEMENT OF FACTS.

Marilyn Roden was the executive director of IMRI until January 2005. Roden Dep. at 12. IMRI is a charity that worked with women and children in Belize teaching them skills. Among other things, IMRI taught children to fix boats, sail, and use the boats to make a living fishing. Id. at 14. Roden kept records of boats donated to IMRI. Id. at 39.

Around November 2003, James Scott contacted Rumpel in connection with Scott's work for IMRI. Rumpel Aff. ¶ 2. Scott told Rumpel that the individuals who operated IMRI also operated Rachel's, which oversaw an orphanage in Belize and used boats donated to IMRI to train the orphans in the operation, maintenance, and repair of the boats. Id.

Scott asked Rumpel to loan $300,000 to IMRI so that IMRI could purchase a 53' Carver vessel. Rumpel looked at the vessel and agreed to make the loan. Scott advised Rumpel that the loan would be repaid in a couple of months. Id. ¶ 3; Rumpel Dep. at 52.

After Rumpel agreed to loan IMRI $300,000, Scott told Rumpel that the charities also needed Rumpel's 48' Ocean vessel. Rumpel avers that Scott proposed that he (Rumpel) loan $300,000 to IMRI to acquire the 53' Carver vessel, and that IMRI would then trade the 53' Carver vessel to Rumpel in an even exchange for his 48' Ocean vessel. Rumpel Aff. ¶ 4.

Thereafter, Rumpel received a document signed on behalf of Rachel's acknowledging his $300,000 loan and granting him a lien "against any and all assets charity may liquidate." Id. ¶ 5 & ex. A (letter from Roden to Rumpel dated December 14, 2003). IMRI concedes, for purposes of the present motion only, that IMRI, not Rachel's, received the $300,000 loan. Doc. No. 46 at 10. Rumpel also received a Bill of Sale signed on behalf of IMRI reflecting a trade of the Vessel Victoria, a 48' Ocean Vessel, official number 955331, for the Vessel Dock-Ters Haven, a 53' Carver S30 Voyager-Pilothouse, Official Number 1114341. Rumpel Aff. ¶ 6 & ex. B. The Bill of Sale reflects that Rumpel traded and transferred all of his rights in the Vessel Victoria to IMRI, and that IMRI traded the Vessel Dock-Ters Haven for the Vessel Victoria. The Bill of Sale provides as follows:

Owner of the vessel described below [Vessel Dock-Ters Haven], is hereby trades [sic.] for above vessel [Vessel Victoria] which transfers all rights, title and interest together with all gear, equipment and necessaries appertaining to said vessel as to John H. Rumpel, for no other interests, considerations, monies, or the like.

Id. ¶ 6, ex. B.

A Deed of Gift dated December 14, 2003, signed by Robert E. Darnaby, reflects that Darnaby transferred the Vessel Dock-Ter's Haven, Official Number 1114341 to IMRI. Doc. No. 6, ex. B. A second Deed of Gift dated December 14, 2003, purportedly signed by Rumpel,⁶ reflects that Rumpel transferred the Vessel Victoria, Official Number 955331, to IMRI for "Consideration Received: None (Even Trade)." Doc. No. 6, ex. C. Both deeds of gift provide as follows:

Vessel is sold free and clear of all liens, mortgages, and other encumbrances of any kind and nature, except as stated on the reverse hereof.

Doc. No. 6, exs. B, C. None of the deeds of gift in the file contain any provisions on the reverse side of the document. On December 22, 2003, Rumpel provided IMRI with a cashier's check in the amount of $300,000. Rumpel Aff. ¶ 8 & ex. C.

In August or September 2004, IMRI sent Rumpel a Revised Invoice...