Opinion
6:22-cv-1591-RBD-EJK
10-26-2022
In the Matter of the Complaint for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability by Fired up Fishing Charters LLC, as owner of the 1992 32' Stuart Angler motor vessel, bearing Hull Identification No. MPB32390J293, Petitioner.
ORDER
EMBRY J. KIDD, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This cause comes before the Court on Petitioner's Motion for Entry of Order Approving Ad Interim Stipulation of Value, and Directing Issuance of Limitation Injunction and Monition (the “Motion”), filed September 2, 2022. (Doc. 1.) For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is due to be granted.
On September 2, 2022, Petitioner, the owner of a 1992 32' Stuart Angler motor vessel, Hull Identification Number MPB32390J293 (the “Vessel”), filed a Complaint and Petition (the “Complaint”) (Doc. 1) for exoneration from and/or limitation of liability as provided for in the Act of Congress embodied in 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq. and pursuant to Rule F of the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty and Maritime Claims of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, together with the statutes supplemental thereto and amendatory thereof, and also contesting its liability independently of the limitation of liability claims under said Acts, Treaty or Code for any loss, damages, deaths, personal injuries, damage or destruction of property or other occurrences arising from the incident that occurred on or about March 3, 2022, on the navigable waterways of the United States as further described in the Complaint.
In accordance with Supplemental Rule F, and the papers and affidavits filed by Petitioner, the Motion is GRANTED. The Court ORDERS as follows:
1. The Clerk is DIRECTED to accept the surety bond in the amount of $63,000.00 including costs of court and interest at the rate of six percent (6%) per annum from date hereof, filed herein by Petitioner, as an Ad Interim Stipulation for Value (Doc. 1-2) for the value of Petitioner's interest in the Vessel;
2. Petitioner, and any Claimant who may properly become a party to this action, may contest the value of Petitioner's interest in the Vessel as fixed in the Ad Interim Stipulation for Value (Doc. No. 1-2). The Court, upon motion, shall cause due appraisement of such value and may thereupon order said security increased or reduced if it finds the amount thereof insufficient or excessive; and, upon demand, the Court may similarly order such increase or reduction if it finds that such an order is necessary to carry out the provisions of 46 U.S.C. § 30501, as amended, in respect of loss of life or bodily injury;
3. If the amount of the Ad Interim Stipulation is not contested by any Claimant herein, said Stipulation shall stand as a Stipulation for Value and an appraisal by a Commissioner will not be required;
4. A public notice of the Limitation Injunction and Monition (the “Notice”) shall be published by Petitioner once each week for four successive weeks in the “Orlando Daily Business Review,” in accordance with Supplemental Rule F(4). Petitioners shall also, no later than the day of second publication, mail a copy of the Notice to every person known to have a claim or who have asserted a claim against the Vessel or Petitioner arising out of the incident set forth in the Complaint.
5. The Notice directs all Claimants to file their respective claims with the Clerk of this Court and to serve or mail to the Petitioner's attorneys copies thereof on or before December 13, 2022, and that all Claimants desiring to contest the allegations of the Complaint shall file an answer to the Complaint and shall serve on or mail to the attorneys for the Petitioner copies thereof or be defaulted.
6. The commencement or further prosecution of any action, suit, or proceeding in any court whatsoever, and the institution and prosecution of any suits, actions, or legal proceedings, of any nature or description whatsoever, in any court whatsoever, except in the present proceedings, in respect to any claim arising out of the incident set forth in the Complaint, are hereby STAYED RESTRAINED, and ENJOINED until the hearing and termination of this proceeding or until further order of this Court.
7. Service of this Order as a restraining order in this District may be made through the Post Office by mailing a conformed copy thereof to the person or persons to be restrained, or to their respective attorneys, or alternatively, by hand.
DONE and ORDERED.