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Crownline sued over Florida crash
April, 28 2009, 09:12 AM
Survivors of a fatal Easter Sunday boating accident in Palm Valley, Fla., are suing Crownline Boats, alleging that the "unsafe design" of the bowrider contributed to the crash.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Francis Moore, his son Joshua Moore, and Jamie Hole, according to a report from Firstcoastnews.com. They are three of the nine survivors who were aboard the 22-footer when it crashed.

The lawsuit states that riding in the bow is unsafe because it "exposes persons on the bow to the risk of ejection in case of collision, and it places passengers in front of the driver, thereby obstructing the driver's ability to see objects in or on the water ahead of the vessel," First Coast News reports.

The story notes that 14 people were on the Crownline, two more than the 12 passengers it is designed to hold, when it hit a push-boat in the Intracoastal Waterway.

The plaintiffs are seeking $75,000 in damages.

Officials from Crownline could not be reached this morning for comment.

Author:	Cap'n Morgan [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Who is at Fault ?
Saw this today, and was wondering what all of you think. I am not a lawyer, but I feel the people suing don't have a very strong case against the manufacturer. This is not intended to be political, boat bashing, or anything like that, just for discussion and opinions. Quote: Crownline sued over Florida crash April, 28 2009, 09:12 AM Survivors of a fatal Easter Sunday boating accident in Palm Valley, Fla., are suing Crownline Boats, alleging that the "unsafe design" of the bowrider contributed to the crash. The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Francis Moore, his son Joshua Moore, and Jamie Hole, according to a report from Firstcoastnews.com. They are three of the nine survivors who were aboard the 22-footer when it crashed. The lawsuit states that riding in the bow is unsafe because it "exposes persons on the bow to the risk of ejection in case of collision, and it places passengers in front of the driver, thereby obstructing the driver's ability to see objects in or on the water ahead of the vessel," First Coast News reports. The story notes that 14 people were on the Crownline, two more than the 12 passengers it is designed to hold, when it hit a push-boat in the Intracoastal Waterway. The plaintiffs are seeking $75,000 in damages. Officials from Crownline could not be reached this morning for comment. http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/loca ... 22&catid=3

Author:	Wet Doggg [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:42 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
Don't even get me started on this. I am so tired of the "it is always someone else's fault" attitude. The injured and their lawyers willing to file the suit should be ashamed of themselves.

Author:	aguyindallas [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:44 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
This is just like a dead gang bangers family suing a gun mfr because their son got shot. Total BS. What you will likely see in this is that when you take delivery of your new boat, you will have to sign a waiver of sorts that shows you understand that it "may be dangerous" to ride in the bow, etc... Nonsense!

Author:	my200winns [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:04 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
aguyindallas wrote: What you will likely see in this is that when you take delivery of your new boat, you will have to sign a waiver of sorts that shows you understand that it "may be dangerous" to ride in the bow, etc... Nonsense! There will be no waiver to sign just a big Yellow WARNING Stickers somewhere on the seat or that you will not be able to take off, warning you of potential hazards.. kind of like the caution the coffe is hot labels on coffe cups. If they are going to sue someone how about the driver??? 14 people and the boat is rated for 12, they were probably way over the weight limit as well.

Author:	chubert [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
Business must be slow in the ambulance chasing industry too. As a lawyer, you have to know this is going nowhere? Anyone actually read their Four Winns manual and see how many warnings there are. Must be 5 on each page.... This must be a very dangerous past time...

www.iFourWinns.com https://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/

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Author:	captwalt [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:55 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
The boat is as guilty of killing those poor people as spoons are for making people fat!

Author:	07H200SS [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:25 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
That is such BS. The owner or operator is at fault 100%. It is his or her responsability to know where they are going and to be able to see.

Author:	230 Mike [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
The scariest thing about this is that they have at least a 50% chance of winning. Buy your new boat now before the government mandates they be wrapped in unremoveable bubble wrap. Edit: Some of the points are valid. It is often dangerous to ride in the bow. Doing so does often impair the captain's view. We take on these risks willingly, carefully, and at our own risk. Let's be honest. The real question is, how will the judges (I'm sure it won't stop at one) come down on the argument of common sense and individual liberties vs. The Nanny State?

Author:	leftlane [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
Maybe they should sue Budweiser for making the captain unable to correctly pilot his overloaded craft.

Author:	robbo3 [ Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:33 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
What about the warning label that is in every boat referring to CAPACITY? It usually has a bright yellow background on it and is within plain sight of the driver. This would be like driving a Beetle down the road with 15 people inside, hitting a semi truck and blaming VW for not providing enough seating. I'd love to see a jury of boaters as peers on this one, cases like this looking to reward lack of common sense really irritate me.

Author:	powellcrazy [ Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:34 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
What I see, now the government and safety boards are going to be involved, say good-bye to the open bow!!! Or at least legally riding in the bow while the boat is moving, similar to riding on the bow of a cuddy (which is illegal in most states)

Author:	Better Luck [ Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:01 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
NEWS FLASH! Government urges boat manufacturers to install airbags and safety belts for all boats driven by ***holes. Hmm, I guess that guy didn't get the memo.

Author:	wkearney99 [ Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
Hopefully the manufacturer will fight this stupidity. And then go after the attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit.

Author:	Flying Sushi [ Wed Apr 29, 2009 8:29 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
I am very disappointed on lack of responsibility of people and have to bring to a legal action on case like this. The mentality is way off.... Then Lawyers who takes this kind of case............. This is nothing other than publicity stunt and tries to aggravate normal people… PS: Kids loves bow… I personally feel better with kids in bow than back. I can see them when they misbehave at bow but if they sit in back and misbehave….. I can not see... I have more issue with people who sit in back than bow…. No, I am not doing mid 50 on this one.....

Author:	Cincy Aquaholic [ Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:02 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Who is at Fault ?
I'm not familar with the product liability laws in Florida but even my "uneducated" analysis tells me this case is going no where. It appears that the crux of this case is against a manufacturer for defective design and/or failure to warn. Not a manufacturering defect because I don't see where the boat was "built" wrong. Instead, the claim is such that the open bow boat is inherently and unreasonable dangerous for its intended purposes. This is similar to the lawsuits againsts the 3-wheeler manufacturers in the 80's that brought about the quad and lawn darts. The laws pretty much hold that companies cannot put out products that are unreasonably dangerous products for their intended purposes. Who decides if its unreasonable dangerous? YOU DO. Its a balancing test amongst a lot of factors like the usefullness of the product, the level of danger and the consumer's expectation. Chain saws are dangerous, so are lawnmowers and electric knives. But are they unreasonably dangerous? Are they not suited for their intended purposes? Is an open bow boat unreasonably dangerous? Does it not meet the consumers expectations? How long have bowriders been around? How many millions have been sold? Have many people have been injured in them due to no fault of their own -see below? A boating state like Florida will be a very tough venue for such a case. There are many defenses available to claims likes this. You all make good points regarding the operator's apparent negligence in overloading the boat. For purposes of fault, keep that separate from analyzing the alleged fault of the manufacturer for now. Its relevant, but distinct and separate and only comes into play if fault is established against the manufacturer. Then, there can be an offset for "contributory negligence." Some states say if the the contributory negligence exceeds the percentage of fault of the other party (i.e., more than 50%) then its an absolute bar to recovery. Others say its a pure percentage recovery.

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