Mullane v. Chambers
| Citation | 206 F.Supp.2d 105 |
| Decision Date | 06 June 2002 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 98-11797-REK. |
| Parties | David E. MULLANE and Joan-Leslie Mullane Plaintiffs v. Adele CHAMBERS In Personam, Jean Farese In Personam, Frank Cousins, Sheriff, In Personam Essex County Sheriff's Dept. In Personam and M/Y Cent'Anni, (O.N.967917) her engines, tackle, equipment, and furnishings, In Rem. Defendants |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
Thomas L. Muzyka, Clinton & Muzyka, Boston, MA, for David E. Mullane, Joan-Leslie Mullane.
Paul L. Kenny, Medford, MA, John F. Lakin, Andover, MA, Salim R. Tabit, Harvey & Tabit, Andover, MA, for Adele Chambers, Jean Farese.
Robert A. Ciampitti, Jr., Law Offices of Ronbert Ciampitti, Boston, MA, for Frank Cousins.
This case concerns a boat that has, at various times, borne the name "Lady B," "Lady B Gone," and "Cent' Anni." As any sailor will tell you, it is bad luck to change the name of a boat, an adage that is supported by the partnerships, alliances, marriages, and familial relationships that have been damaged or destroyed during the saga of the vessel now known as the Cent' Anni (or Centanni).
The evidence before me, although married by gaps that the parties could have filled by calling the appropriate witnesses, is sufficient to make findings by a preponderance of the evidence. No party suggests that more than a preponderance is required, and because I am able to find the facts recited in this opinion by a preponderance of the evidence, I need not decide which party bore the burden of proof on the various issues before me.
An ordinary conflict has permutations of relationships and interrelationships. This conflict is certainly no exception, and is perhaps an exemplar of extreme and exceptional. To facilitate a better understanding of the facts, I must identify the parties, both those who are in fact parties in interest in this case, and those who are in fact interlopers.
The Vessel: By maritime tradition, vessels are female actors, and in this case the vessel is principal among the actors. The M/Y (Motorized Yacht) Lady B was built in Tustin, California by Californian Yachts, Inc., in 1988. It was first sold to Russo's Marine Mart, Inc., at a time not precisely identified by any evidence before me. On July 28, 1990, the vessel was sold by Russo's Marine Mart, Inc., to Dr. John J. Walsh, Jr. and Beatrice M. Walsh. Dr. Walsh named the vessel "Lady B." See Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 2; Defendants' Exhibit No. 114. The name of the vessel was later changed to "Lady B Gone." See id. At some point after David Murphy acquired the vessel, he renamed it "Centanni."
The Centanni is 42 feet long and weighs approximately 42,000 pounds. It is a twin engine, straight-shaft-driven pleasure boat. (Transcript of Day 1, Docket No. 158, filed January 2, 2002, pp. 24, 114).
David Mullane: David Mullane, a plaintiff in this action, is a vascular surgeon who resides at 512 Broadway in Everett, Massachusetts. Dr. Mullane has an office in Everett, which he shared at various times with Dr. John J. Walsh.
Joan Leslie Mullane: Joan Leslie Mullane is David Mullane's wife and is the other plaintiff in this action.
John J. Walsh: John J. Walsh is also a physician in Everett, Massachusetts. He and his first wife, Beatrice M. Walsh, were first to hold private ownership of the Centanni. Dr. and Mrs. Walsh were eventually divorced, and Dr. Walsh later married Judee Chambers.
Judee Chambers: Judee Chambers is the daughter of Richard Chambers and defendant Adele Chambers and the granddaughter of defendant Jean Farese. She is also Alfred Farese, Jr.'s niece. She was married to Dr. Walsh until December 12, 1997. (Transcript of Day 3, Docket No. 160, filed January 2, 2002, p. 25).
Adele Chambers: Adele Chambers is one of the two in personam defendants in this action. She is the wife of Richard Chambers, the mother of Judee Chambers, and the daughter of Jean Farese, the other in personam defendant. She is the sister of Alfred Farese, Jr. She was, at one time, a personal friend to David and Angela Murphy. (Deposition of Angela Murphy, Exhibit No. 111, p. 32-33).
David Murphy: David M. Murphy is the owner of several trucking companies, including Suburban Transportation, Inc., and Stryker Transportation Co. It is undisputed that he owned the vessel before July 2, 1998. David Murphy was a friend to Adele Chambers and Jean Farese. (Murphy Deposition, p. 33). He was a client of Richard Chambers and Alfred Farese, Jr. (Day 1, pp. 69; Transcript of Day 2, Docket No 159, filed January 2, 2002, p. 40). He was also a friend and patient of both Dr. Walsh and Dr. Mullane. (Murphy Deposition, p. 16; Day 1, pp. 110-11). At the trial of this case, no party called David Murphy as a witness.
Angela Murphy: Angela Murphy is the wife of David Murphy. She was a friend of Adele Chambers and Jean Farese. (Murphy Deposition, p. 32-33). Angela Murphy did not testify at trial, although the parties submitted portions of her deposition as Defendants' Exhibit 111 in evidence.
Jean Farese: Jean Farese is the other in personam defendant in this action. She is the mother of Adele Chambers and Alfred Farese, Jr., and was a friend to David and Angela Murphy. (Day 3, p. 15; Murphy Deposition, p. 32-33).
Alfred Farese, Jr.: Alfred Farese, Jr. is an attorney in Everett, Massachusetts. He was in a partnership with his father and Richard Chambers, his uncle. He is the nephew of Adele Chambers and the grandson of Jean Farese. He represented David Murphy at various times, and also represented Dr. Mullane in connection with the purchase of the vessel. He filed this action on behalf of Dr. Mullane (Complaint, Docket No. 1, filed on September 1, 1998), and withdrew three days later (Docket No. 13, filed September 4, 1998).
Rob Scanlon: Rob Scanlon is a Marine Surveyor who surveyed the vessel at least four times. (Day 3, p. 30). At the time of trial, he had known David Murphy for "about six years." (Day 3, p. 38). Mr. Scanlon also knew Dr. Walsh, and had seen the vessel at the time Dr. Walsh owned it. (Day 3, p. 39).
All parties argue that this court is required to adhere to the law of Massachusetts in determining the outcome of this case, although they disagree about which provisions of that law apply. I need not resolve this dispute, however, because the parties are wrong as a matter of law to suggest that Massachusetts law governs the central issues of the case.
When they filed this civil action, plaintiffs invoked the admiralty jurisdiction of this court (Complaint, Docket No. 1, filed September 1, 1998, at ¶ 5; Amended Complaint, Docket No. 7, filed September 4, 1998, at ¶¶ 7 & 8). Although the defendants denied the jurisdictional statement in their answer (Answer, Docket No. 27, filed August 30, 1998, ¶¶ 7 & 8), they never filed any motion challenging the jurisdiction of this court to adjudicate the controversy in admiralty.
The Constitution provides that the judicial power of the United States shall extend to "all Cases of admiralty and maritime Jurisdiction." U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2. Congress implemented this constitutional grant of subject matter jurisdiction in the Judiciary Act of 1789 by giving the district courts "exclusive original cognizance of all civil causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction . . . saving-to-suitors, in all cases, the right of a common law remedy, where the common law is competent to give it. . . ." The statute conferring original admiralty jurisdiction on the federal district courts is 28 U.S.C. Section 1333. 14A CHARLES A. WRIGHT, ARTHUR R. MILLER, EDWARD H. COOPER, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE, § 3671 (3d ed.1998) (footnotes omitted).
I find that the admiralty jurisdiction of this court was properly invoked and that the court has jurisdiction over this case only under its admiralty powers.
The substantive rules of admiralty and maritime law apply to a case when it falls within federal admiralty jurisdiction. Clancy v. Mobile Oil Corp., 906 F.Supp. 42 (D.Mass.1995).
I have found no case in admiralty that defines when the purchase of a vessel was a good faith purchase. The cases cited by the plaintiffs, Maryland National Bank v. Yacht Escape II, 817 F.Supp. 1 (E.D.N.Y. 1993) and Stewart & Co. v. Rivara, 274 U.S. 614, 47 S.Ct. 718, 71 L.Ed. 1234 (1927), are not admiralty cases. The cases cited by the defendants similarly are inapposite.
Where the law is unsettled, the court must decide what standard it should apply. See Fitzgerald v. United States Lines Co., 374 U.S. 16, 20, 83 S.Ct. 1646, 10 L.Ed.2d 720 (1963) ().
At common law, a bona fide purchaser was one who paid value for goods without knowledge of another's claim to those goods. Although the Uniform Commercial Code is not controlling in this admiralty case, reference to it is helpful in defining the elements of a bona fide purchase with clarity. In Massachusetts, which has adopted the Uniform Commercial Code,
A "bona fide purchaser" is defined . . . as "a purchaser for value in good faith and without notice of any adverse claim." G.L.c. 106, § 8-302(1). Each of the terms contained in this definition is itself defined elsewhere in G.L.c. 106 as follows.
A "[p]urchase" is any voluntary transaction creating an interest in property, including () a sale or issue.
. . . . .
A person gives "[v]alue" for rights if he acquires them "in return for any consideration sufficient to support a simple contract." G.L.c. 106, § 1-201(44)(d). An exception exists for negotiable instruments, where a holder takes an instrument for value "to the extent that the agreed consideration has been performed" (emphasis added). G.L.c. 106, § 3-303(a). See New Bedford Inst. for...
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Mullane v. Chambers
...109A, presumably because of its holding that the validity of the transfer was governed by federal law, not state law. See Mullane, 206 F.Supp.2d at 109-10. However, we agree with Chambers and Farese that state law governs the validity of the transfer and that the district court should have ......
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