Lay v. Hixson
| Decision Date | 29 August 2012 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 09–0075–WS–M. |
| Citation | 905 F.Supp.2d 1256 |
| Parties | John Joshua LAY, Plaintiff, v. Scott D. HIXSON, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Alabama |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Gregory C. Buffalow, Mobile, AL, for Plaintiff.
M. Warren Butler, Scott D. Stevens, Starnes Davis Florie LLP, Mobile, AL, for Defendants.
This matter came before the Court for non-jury trial on August 27, 2012. Both sides called witnesses and introduced exhibits into evidence. The record is now closed. Neither party having requested post-trial briefing, and none being necessary or appropriate in this case, the Court now enters findings of fact and conclusions of law, pursuant to Rule 52(a), Fed.R.Civ.P.
Plaintiff, John Joshua Lay, brought this salvage action under general maritime law against defendants, Scott D. Hixson and Gulf Bay Marine Construction, LLC (“Gulf Bay”). In particular, Lay alleges that he discovered a barge belonging to defendants floating adrift in August 2008, that he took reasonable steps to secure the barge and identify its owner, and that he is entitled to a salvage award of $12,250 (or 25% of the purported $49,000 value of the barge). For their part, defendants deny that Lay is entitled to any salvage award. Defendants' view is that the barge was not adrift, was not in maritime peril, and was not situated in such a manner that it could not be saved without Lay's assistance. These issues were the focal point of the trial.
Based on the evidence presented at trial, including both live testimony and exhibits admitted into evidence, the Court makes the following findings of fact by a preponderance of the evidence pursuant to Rule 52(a)(1), Fed.R.Civ.P.:
In August 2002, Hixson (who is the owner of Gulf Bay) purchased a pair of 8' x 40' work barges for the total sum of approximately $50,000. He intended for the barges to be used in Gulf Bay's business, which includes such activities as installing pilings and building piers and marinas. Although the two barges were of the same length and width, they differed in that one had a mounted yellow crane, while the other did not. In the normal course of operations, the two barges were designed to be used together. To facilitate those joint operations, the barges could be secured together via an alignment pyramid mechanism (which enabled the barges to sit level in the water despite their differing weights and water displacements) and a series of attachment points (referred to in the testimony as “ear lobes”) through which load binding ratchet straps with shackles and hooks could be fastened to bind the vessels together tightly.1
In late 2005, Hixson moved both barges to Long Bayou, which is part of the Wolf Bay watershed in Baldwin County, Alabama. Hixson intended to “store” the barges in the water until Gulf Bay needed them for another job (such as hurricane cleanup or a major construction project). He selected a moorage location on the edge of the creek, in shallow water at a depth of approximately 3 1/2 feet.2 The barge without the crane (the “Spudded Barge”) was secured to that site via two “spuds,” which are 21–foot long pipes weighing 400 to 500 pounds. Using the crane from the other barge, Hixson drove the spuds through cylindrical holes found at each end of the Spudded Barge, such the spuds passed all the way through the body of the barge, down through the water, and into the mud below to a depth of approximately 5 to 8 feet. The Spudded Barge was securely moored via this technique,and never budged from that location after Hixson secured it there.
As for the other barge (the “Crane Barge”), there were no spuds or other devices to anchor it separately into the mud in Long Bayou. However, at the time the Spudded Barge was secured to its moorage in Long Bayou, the Crane Barge was securely attached to the Spudded Barge through the alignment pyramid connectors, as well as the use of load binding ratchet straps at the “ear lobe” attachment points of the two barges. These binding straps—which were rated at 13,000 pounds for working loads—were tightly, securely and properly fastened in such a manner that the barges would not break loose from each other. Also, the Crane Barge was positioned between the Spudded Barge and a grassy shoreline, with debris on one side of it that effectively created what Hixson termed a “forward obstruction to travel.” The net effect was that, as of late 2005, the Crane Barge was securely moored in Long Bayou, both by virtue of the load binding ratchets, ear lobes, and alignment pyramid hardware on the barges themselves and by virtue of the fact that it was wedged into a confined area in shallow water between the Spudded Barge and the edge of the creek, with a forward obstruction to movement, such that it was effectively pinned in on three sides.
Hixson did not utilize these barges in Gulf Bay's business for several years after placing them in Long Bayou. But he did not abandon or ignore them, either. From the time of the above-described moorage until the time of the Crane Barge's disappearance, Hixson and his friends and family members periodically checked on the two barges to verify that they remained securely moored and connected. For example, on Thursday, August 21, 2008, Hixson's father, Douglas Hixson, took a boat out to Long Bayou and checked on the barges, at which time he observed them to be securely moored and tied together, just like always. On that same date, Hixson's longtime friend Bancroft Marshall (a commercial pilot based in Orange Beach) flew over that area in an airplane and noticed nothing amiss in the appearance or location of the barges (which Marshall had helped Hixson secure at that location in 2005). More importantly, the Alabama Marine Police Division regularly patrols Long Bayou. Its patrol officers know the area (and defendants' barges) well. Those officers consistently observed the barges to be securely moored at that location. Upon careful consideration of the totality of the record, as well as the undersigned's observations of demeanor and credibility during the trial, the Court credits these witnesses' testimony. On that basis, the Court makes a finding of fact that the Crane Barge was securely moored at Long Bayou as of August 24, 2008, and that it was not adrift in the creek at any time relevant hereto, much less for a period of weeks or even years as plaintiff contends. 3
On August 24, 2008, Lay (with the assistance of Lewis Hamilton, who provided the necessary boat for towing purposes) moved the Crane Barge to a public boat ramp at Pirates Cove. Sometime between August 25 and August 27, Lay transported the Crane Barge to his home in Elberta, Alabama, where he left the barge in his front yard in an open and obvious condition, without concealing or hiding it in any manner.4 During this same interval, Lay undertook various measures to identify and contact the owner of the Crane Barge, including placing a classified advertisement in the newspaper asking that the owner contact him and make salvage fee arrangements for return of the vessel. Lay's objective was never to convert the Crane Barge to his own long-term personal possession surreptitiously; rather, his plan at all times was to hold the Crane Barge on his property until he negotiated a salvage fee with its owner.
Unfortunately for Lay, his scheme to extract a hefty salvage fee from the barge's owner backfired badly. Within 24 hours after Lay moved the Crane Barge from its moorage at Long Bayou, Hixson learned of its disappearance and took to the skies (with the help of Marshall, his pilot friend) to locate the Crane Barge. Before dark on August 25, 2008, Hixson found the Crane Barge tied to the public boat ramp in Pirates Cove where Lay had left it. Hixson subsequently contacted the Alabama Marine Police to report the barge stolen, and ultimately filed a report of vessel theft to the Orange Beach Police Department on August 27.
On August 27, 2008, Lay received information that the Crane Barge belonged to Hixson. So Lay left a voice-mail message for Hixson that day demanding a $9,000 salvage fee for the return of the vessel. The next day, Lay and Hixson spoke for the first and only time, with Lay reiterating his $9,000 salvage demand. When Hixson indicated that he wanted the Crane Barge returned to the location from whence it had been taken, Lay responded that he would do so for an additional $3,000 fee. Hixson arranged to meet with Lay at a nearby gas station on the afternoon of August 28 to discuss the matter further. When Lay appeared at the appointed location, the Alabama Marine Police arrested him and took him into custody for stealing the Crane Barge.5 The Marine Police located the Crane Barge in Lay's front yard and eventually restored possession of it to Hixson.
As noted, Lay alleges a single cause of action against Hixson and Gulf Bay for salvage under the general maritime law; therefore, his claim must be evaluated by reference to traditional maritime principles. “In order to establish a claim for a salvage award, a potential salvor must demonstrate (1) the existence of a maritime peril from which the property could not have been saved without the salvor's assistance; (2) a voluntary act on the part of the salvor; and (3) the salvor's success in saving the property.” Cape Ann Towing v. M/Y “Universal Lady”, 268 Fed.Appx. 901, 902–03 (11th Cir.2008); see also Klein v. Unidentified Wrecked and Abandoned Sailing Vessel, 758 F.2d 1511, 1515 (11th Cir.1985) ( ...
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...vessel, (doc. 23, pp. 7–8). See M/V Islander, 751 F.2d 1, 7 (1st Cir. 1984) (ship neither grounded nor stranded); Lay v. Hixson, 905 F. Supp. 2d 1256, 1260 (S.D. Ala. 2012) (same); Phelan v. Minges, 170 F. Supp. 826, 828 (D. Mass. 1959) (same). At best, Defendant refers to Fine, 895 F. Supp......