Petition of Colonial Trust Company, 4530.
| Court | United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court (Connecticut) |
| Citation | 124 F. Supp. 73 |
| Docket Number | No. 4530.,4530. |
| Parties | In the Matter of the Petition of the COLONIAL TRUST COMPANY and Elizabeth Deborah Steele Elton, as owners of the pleasure yacht, "Charlotte" her engines, etc. in a cause of exoneration from or limitation of liability. |
| Decision Date | 17 September 1954 |
124 F. Supp. 73
In the Matter of the Petition of the COLONIAL TRUST COMPANY and Elizabeth Deborah Steele Elton, as owners of the pleasure yacht, "Charlotte" her engines, etc. in a cause of exoneration from or limitation of liability.
No. 4530.
United States District Court D. Connecticut, Admiralty Division.
September 17, 1954.
Walter F. Torrance, Jr., Carmody & Torrance, Waterbury, Conn., for petitioner.
John J. Kinney, Jr., New Haven, Conn., and Frederick R. Houde, Branford, Conn., for claimant.
ANDERSON, District Judge.
The parties, by stipulation, have presented to the court a statement of facts and three questions to be answered in relation to them. These questions are: (1) does admiralty jurisdiction apply; (2) is the Colonial Trust Company, as trustee, an owner within the meaning of the provisions of the limitation of liability statute 46 U.S.C.A. § 183(a); and (3) is the petitioner Mrs. Elizabeth Deborah Steele Elton an "owner" within the provisions of the same statute.
At the time of his death on March 8, 1948, John P. Elton, of Waterbury, Connecticut, owned a gasoline-screw, cabin-cruiser, the "Charlotte," which was twenty-five feet nine inches in length. The "Charlotte" formed a part of the said John P. Elton's residuary estate, which under the terms of his will, was left to the Colonial Trust Company, of Waterbury, Connecticut, in trust, for the use of his wife, Elizabeth Deborah Steele Elton, the petitioner, during her life with the remainder to other persons. From the date of Mr. Elton's death to the date of this action, the "Charlotte" was held in the name of the Colonial Trust Company as trustee. Mrs. Elton had the sole possession, custody and control of the boat which was used by her for pleasure. The boat was operated and maintained for her by her employee, one Ezekiel Acebo.
The remaining facts set forth in the stipulation are as follows:
"On November 15, 1952, the `Charlotte' was placed in storage for the winter in a boat house in Stony Creek, Branford, Connecticut. This boat house was privately owned and operated and charged boat owners a fee for winter storage therein. On November 17, 1952, the Claimant, Elmer E. Reff of the Town of Branford, entered into said boat house and upon the `Charlotte' for the purpose of winterizing her engine. While the Claimant was within the `Charlotte', an explosion and fire occurred causing extensive damage to the boat and personal injuries to the Claimant. The Claimant alleges that negligence on the part of Captain Acebo in the preparation of the `Charlotte' for storage was the proximate cause of his injuries.
"The `Charlotte' was owned and used solely as a pleasure yacht and at no time was ever used for hire. The operation of this boat when in the waters was normally restricted to the waters of Long Island Sound in the immediate vicinity of Stony Creek."
On November 13, 1953, a civil negligence action was brought by Elmer E. Reff against the petitioners in the Superior Court of the State of Connecticut in which Reff sought $25,000 damages for his personal injuries. In the present proceeding the petitioners seek to have that action enjoined upon the taking of jurisdiction by the admiralty court and to have liability limited under the statute, 46 U.S.C.A. § 183(a).
The three questions propounded in the stipulation are all answered in the affirmative.
In connection with the first question, the claimant urges that admiralty jurisdiction should not apply in a case such as this where the vessel is completely
"Proceedings by vessel owners to limit their liability as permitted by the Acts of Congress relating thereto are...
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COMPLAINT OF BFT NO. TWO CORP., Civ. A. No. 74-391.
...else is within the definition of the right or the range of the statute." See also Petition of Colonial Trust Co., D.C.D.Conn.1954, 124 F.Supp. 73. . . . A prime purpose of the limitation acts has been to promote the employment of vessels in commerce and the encouragement of persons engaged ......
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Moeller v. Mulvey, Civil No. 6-95-100.
...1021, 1022 (D.Conn.1968) (yacht); Petition of Porter, 272 F.Supp. 282, 286 (S.D.Tex.1967) (yacht); Petition of Colonial Trust Co., 124 F.Supp. 73, 75 (D.Conn.1954) (cabin cruiser). Thus, as recently as 1977, our Court of Appeals has held, albeit in a footnote, that a small motorboat is a "v......
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Admiral Towing Company v. Woolen, 16735.
...definition, one that coincides with popular notions of the meaning of ownership. In Petition of Colonial Trust Co., D.C.D.Conn.1954, 124 F.Supp. 73, the court ruled that the holder of a lifetime interest in a pleasure craft and the trust company which as trustee held legal title to the vess......
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Complaint of Sisson, s. 87-2713
...In re Klarman, 295 F.Supp. 1021 (D.Conn.1968); Petition of Porter, 272 F.Supp. 282 (S.D.Tex.1967); Petition of Colonial Trust Co., 124 F.Supp. 73 (D.Conn.1954) (all holding Limitation of Liability Act applicable to pleasure craft) with In re Lowing, 635 F.Supp. 520 (W.D.Mich.1986); In re Tr......