Opinion ID: 197226
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Damage Sustained During the Tow to New York

Text: 20 On this appeal, El/Cap does not deny that the C&G vessels were ill-suited for open ocean travel, 6 nor does El/Cap deny that the decision to transfer the tow and continue in open ocean during poor weather conditions was imprudent. Rather, El/Cap stresses the following two points regarding the damages to C&G property en route to New York: that El/Cap did not, in any way, participate in the decision to transfer the tow off of Hereford Inlet during stormy weather, and that the incompetence of Henry Marine led inevitably to the losses claimed. Appellant's Brief at 14. According to El/Cap, it rescued the AMBER II from the incompetent hands of Henry Marine and brought it safely to New York. There may be some merit to El/Cap's argument. Nevertheless, an appellate court may not usurp the function of the jury, and thus we cleave to the facts in the light most favorable to C&G. The record indicates that the jury could have accepted contrary testimony as to each of these points emphasized by El/Cap. 21 With regard to the decision to transfer a tow that was unsuited for open ocean travel in rough ocean waters and foggy conditions--a decision that El/Cap appears to concede was negligent, see Appellant's Brief at 15--the jury could have found that El/Cap shouldered responsibility based on the deposition testimony, read at trial, of Robert Henry, the principal of Henry Marine. Robert Henry averred that El/Cap's principal knew of the nature of the tow and agreed to take over the tow off of Hereford Inlet, and that the captain of the TOMMY G instructed that the tow be brought out to open sea for the purposes of the transfer. Exhibit 127 at 56-60; Tr. at 419. Although the Henry Marine boats collided with and damaged the AMBER II, this harm could be deemed a foreseeable result of undertaking an open ocean transfer under unsuitable weather conditions. The jury could have concluded that El/Cap knowingly decided to proceed with the transfer of towed vessels that are unsuited for open ocean travel, during rough weather. Such a conclusion is a sufficient ground for a finding of tort liability as to the damage to the AMBER II, since the AMBER II suffered damage during the transfer. 22 Additionally, C&G offered the expert testimony of an experienced marine captain who opined that the Henry Marine tugs were following the lead of El/Cap's dominant tug, and that El/Cap failed to maintain professional standards by performing the transfer under the circumstances. Testimony of Ron Campana, Tr. at 229-31. El/Cap's duty to exercise reasonable care and maritime skill required that attention be given to the special circumstances of this tow, and a reasonable jury could have found that they fell short of that duty by undertaking the transfer. 23 Even assuming, as El/Cap argues, that the principals of C&G and East Coast Marine, eager to speed the towing process, decided that El/Cap should relieve Henry Marine of the AMBER II off of Hartford Inlet, this does automatically exonerate El/Cap from liability. The jury may even have accepted El/Cap's version of the events surrounding the decision to leave the intracoastal waterways and still found that the TOMMY G failed to carry out the tow prudently by participating in the transfer in poor weather. Under certain circumstances, the duty of reasonable care and maritime skill may require that a tug captain delay a tow, or otherwise make ad hoc adjustments to the course or schedule that was initially planned by its client. Cf. DiMillo, 870 F.2d at 748-49 (tug should not have set out in bad weather). 7 24 With regard to whether negligent acts by El/Cap were the legal cause of the damages after the transfer, the jury could have concluded that such damage flowed substantially from El/Cap's decisions and was not inevitably caused by Henry Marine's actions. Even assuming that the flotilla was stranded in the Intercoastal Waterway as a direct result of the incompetence of Henry Marine, Appellant's Brief at 14, the jury could have found that El/Cap need not have proceeded to New York without stopping. 8 C&G brought forward expert testimony indicating that the TOMMY G had the opportunity to seek shelter before the LITTLE GEORGE sank, but instead continued to head for New York harbor. Tr. at 231. The LITTLE GEORGE, unfit for ocean travel, was lost as it was being towed by the TOMMY G toward New York harbor. C&G's expert opined not only that the TOMMY G was the dominant tug, responsible for coordinating the actions of the Henry Marine tugs, but also that the TOMMY G was responsible for the sinking of the LITTLE GEORGE. Tr. at 236. Thus, a rational jury could have found that the actions of the El/Cap tug, by not seeking safety, proximately caused the damages that occurred between Delaware and New York.