Matthews v. Howell

• Decision Date: 08 June 2000
• Docket Number: No. 131,131
• Citation: 359 Md. 152,753 A.2d 69
• Parties: Lawrence MATTHEWS et al. v. Stephen K. HOWELL.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

753 A.2d 69

359 Md. 152

Lawrence MATTHEWS et al. v. Stephen K. HOWELL.

No. 131, Sept. Term, 1999.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

June 8, 2000.

David W. Skeen (Wright, Constable & Skeen, LLP, on brief), Baltimore, for appellants.

Tina L. Snee (Jeffrey S. Danzig of Brandt, Jennings, Roberts, Davis & Snee, PLLC, on brief), Falls Church, VA, for appellee.

Argued before BELL, C.J., and ELDRIDGE, RODOWSKY, RAKER, WILNER, CATHELL and HARRELL, JJ.

CATHELL, Judge.

Marcia Ault, appellant, the personal representative of the estate of Kimberly Matthews, decedent, and Lawrence Matthews, appellant, the father and next friend of Brittany and Travis Matthews, the children of Kimberly Matthews, brought two claims against Stephen Howell, appellee, in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County. The first claim was a survivors' action alleging negligence and the second claim alleged Ms. Matthews' wrongful death. Because the allegations in the complaint involved Ms. Matthews' drowning while a guest on a boat captained by appellee, appellants relied on maritime law which is applicable under the "saving to suitors" clause of the Judiciary Act of 1789, codified in 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1) (1994).¹ This appeal generally involves whether the circuit court should have applied maritime law. The circuit court ruled it should not and granted summary judgment to appellee. We hold that the circuit court should have applied maritime law and, accordingly, reverse.

I. Background

Appellee, who operated a mortgage company, visited Robert and Deborah Parks, personal friends, on September 18, 1996, to take pictures of their home. Ms. Matthews, a friend of Ms. Parks, was visiting the Parks home. Appellee invited all three to join him that evening on his boat, a 38-foot, 1984 Wellcraft Scarab.

All four met at Oak Grove Marina on the South River, from which they eventually boated to Cantler's Riverside Inn on Mill Creek. They arrived around 9 to 9:30 p.m., and stayed until approximately 11 to 11:30 p.m., watching the Baltimore Orioles game. During that time, all four consumed a variety of alcoholic drinks.

En route back to Oak Grove Marina, appellee operated the boat from the helm on the starboard (right) side, while Ms. Parks and Ms. Matthews were standing on deck. Ms. Parks stood on the port (left) side, while Ms. Matthews stood in the middle. Mr. Parks went below to light a cigarette. By now, the conditions had worsened: the wind had increased, the water had gotten choppy, and it was dark. While traversing the Chesapeake Bay near Greenbury Point, the boat had been traveling at a planing speed of about forty knots. At some point, appellee abruptly throttled back thereby slowing the boat. He then announced to Ms. Matthews that he wanted to take a quick swim, and dove into the Bay, jumping from the seat at the helm. Appellee and the witnesses differ on whether the boat engines were still engaged and, if so, whether the boat was in gear or drifting in neutral.² The boat apparently was not anchored. Appellee did not ask anyone to take the helm or to post watch. No one knows how or why, but Ms. Matthews went into the water immediately after appellee. Ms. Parks apparently was not paying attention when Ms. Matthews hit the water. Mr. Parks was still below deck and appellee was already in the water and did not see Ms. Matthews dive or fall in after him. Some evidence in the record indicates that Ms. Matthews may have said earlier in the evening that she would like to take a swim. Other evidence, included in a report prepared by appellant's proposed expert witness, indicates that she may have fallen into the Bay, perhaps because of the shift in the boat's plane after appellee dove into the water. Either way, as soon as Ms. Matthews hit the water, she began to panic.

All three witnesses were deposed prior to the trial court's award of summary judgment. Their versions of what happened after Ms. Matthews went into the water differ. In his deposition, appellee claimed that, after he jumped into the Bay, he attempted to board the boat by stepping on the "trim tab" on the stern (rear) of the boat. It was at this point that he heard a splash and Ms. Matthews scream for help. Appellee claims that Ms. Matthews was about twenty feet from the boat. He stated that he tried to rescue Ms. Matthews, but, in her state of panic, she resisted. Ms. Parks threw him and Ms. Matthews a life jacket, but she missed and the wind blew it away. Ms. Parks then jumped in the water in an attempt to save the other two. Mr. Parks came from down below and began to maneuver the boat toward the three in the water. Appellee claims that he dragged Ms. Matthews and Ms. Parks to the port side of the boat. He grabbed a cleat with his left hand, while facing toward the stern. He shouted to Mr. Parks to put the boat in neutral, but it continued to move and appellee could not hold on to the cleat. He also stated that he grabbed a spotlight hanging from the port side of the boat, which was plugged into a lighter at the starboard helm, but the spotlight cord ripped out of the lighter and sank into the water. Eventually, he was separated from the women and drifted away before being rescued by Mr. Parks. He and Mr. Parks then recovered Ms. Parks from the water.

Ms. Parks, in her deposition, stated that Ms. Matthews was about five feet from the boat when she heard her scream. She too described throwing the only life jacket she could find to Ms. Matthews, which the wind blew away. Ms. Parks then jumped into the water. After her husband brought the boat astern toward the swimmers, Ms. Parks claims that she and Ms. Matthews were on the starboard side of the boat, separated from appellee, who was on the port side. Contrary to appellee's claim that he grabbed the spotlight on the port side and ripped it out, Ms. Parks stated that she grabbed the spotlight and it ripped out, leaving her and Ms. Matthews to drift. Her statements also differ in that she claims her husband pulled appellee out of the water at that point. Although not specifically asked about the matter, Ms. Parks did not describe any attempt by appellee to rescue Ms. Matthews. Mr. Parks deposition reflects that he did not see either alleged rescue attempt.

After helping appellee and Ms. Parks into the boat, Mr. Parks called 911 on appellee's cellular phone at 11:55 p.m. A United States Coast Guard boat arrived at 12:38 a.m., on September 19, followed by a Maryland Department of Natural Resources boat at 1:10 a.m., and a helicopter, all of which conducted a search for Ms. Matthews. The search was unsuccessful. Two days later, on September 21, 1996, after receiving a call from a passing boater, the Department of Natural Resources recovered Ms. Matthews' body, which was fully clothed, including her boots. An autopsy revealed that the cause of death was drowning.

Appellants subsequently brought suit against appellee in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, alleging that maritime law applied pursuant to the "saving to suitors" clause of 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1). Two claims were brought: (1) a survivor's claim alleging appellee's negligence in a number of matters, and (2) a wrongful death claim based on the same alleged acts.³ Appellee subsequently moved for summary judgment, which the circuit court granted, ruling that (1) appellee was not negligent in his operation of the boat; (2) maritime law did not apply; (3) appellee had no duty to rescue Ms. Matthews under Maryland law; and (4) appellee owed Ms. Matthews no other duty of care under Maryland law and did not proximately cause her death. Appellants filed a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, and we granted a writ of certiorari on our motion prior to proceedings before the lower appellate court. They present two issues to this Court:

I. Did the trial court err in refusing to apply federal maritime law to the wrongful death and survivorship negligence claims against the owner/operator of a pleasure boat arising out of a drowning of a guest in the navigable waters of the United States?

II. Did the trial court err in its factual findings and in concluding that no genuine issue as to any material fact existed and that as a matter of law the owner of a pleasure craft owed no duty to his guest under Maryland law?

II. Standard of Review

The purpose of the summary judgment procedure is not to try the case or to decide the factual disputes, but to decide whether there is an issue of fact, which is sufficiently material to be tried. See Goodwich v. Sinai Hosp. of Baltimore, Inc., 343 Md. 185, 205-06, 680 A.2d 1067, 1077 (1996)

; Coffey v. Derby Steel Co., 291 Md. 241, 247, 434 A.2d 564, 567-68 (1981); Berkey v. Delia, 287 Md. 302, 304, 413 A.2d 170, 171 (1980). In reviewing the grant of a summary judgment motion, we are concerned with whether a dispute of material fact exists and, if not, whether the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Hartford Ins. Co. v. Manor Inn of Bethesda, Inc., 335 Md. 135, 144, 642 A.2d 219, 224 (1994); Gross v. Sussex, Inc., 332 Md. 247, 255, 630 A.2d 1156, 1160 (1993); Beatty v. Trailmaster, 330 Md. 726, 737, 625 A.2d 1005, 1011 (1993); Arnold Developer, Inc. v. Collins, 318 Md. 259, 262, 567 A.2d 949, 951 (1990); Bachmann v. Glazer & Glazer, Inc., 316 Md. 405, 408, 559 A.2d 365, 366 (1989); King v. Bankerd, 303 Md. 98, 110-11, 492 A.2d 608, 614 (1985) (citations omitted). "A material fact is a fact the resolution of which will somehow affect the outcome of the case." King, 303 Md. at 111,

492 A.2d at 614 (citing Lynx, Inc. v. Ordnance Prods., Inc., 273 Md. 1, 8, 327 A.2d 502, 509 (1974)). "[A] dispute as to facts relating to grounds upon which the decision is not rested is not a dispute with respect to a material fact and such dispute does not prevent the entry of summary judgment." Salisbury Beauty Schools v. State Bd. of Cosmetologists, 268 Md. 32, 40, 300 A.2d 367, 374 (1973). Once the moving party has provided the court with sufficient...