Opinion ID: 201308
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts Cognizable on Summary Judgment

Text: 23 After resolving the foregoing evidentiary issues raised on appeal, the material facts available for consideration of the motions for summary judgment are largely the same as those described by the Magistrate Judge in the Recommended Decision and Memorandum Decision. 24 In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, drawing all reasonable inferences in that party's favor. Barbour v. Dynamics Research Corp., 63 F.3d 32, 36 (1st Cir. 1995). These standards are the same where, as here, both parties have moved for summary judgment. Bienkowski v. Northeastern Univ., 285 F.3d 138, 140 (1st Cir.2002) (citing 10A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2720, at 335-36 (3d ed. 1998) (The court must rule on each party's motion on an individual and separate basis, determining, for each side, whether a judgment may be entered in accordance with the Rule 56 standard.)). Therefore, as we are reviewing the grant of Smith's motion for summary judgment, we now recite the facts in the light most favorable to the Estate. 25 David Smith became the owner of the forty-four foot Vessel named the F/V KATINA ASHLEY in 1989. During the approximately nine years the Vessel was used for fishing, Smith was never the captain. 26 Smith had several captains of the Vessel, including Craig Mifflin and Carlyle Minott. Mifflin was captain of the Vessel for approximately two years, immediately prior to Minott. He left the position in late September 2000. Minott was the captain of the Vessel as of October 4, 2000. There was no written agreement between Smith and Minott regarding the operation of the Vessel or the length of time Minott would serve as captain. 27 Smith's captains had a great deal of autonomy and responsibility. Smith did not direct his captains regarding what types of fish they were to catch or where they were to fish, with the exception of limiting their activities to within fifty miles of shore, based on the limit of Smith's insurance policy. In addition, it was Minott's responsibility as captain to review all of the boat's safety systems prior to use because he was responsible for the crew's safety. The Vessel had made twenty-eight fishing trips in 2000 prior to Minott's first fishing trip on October 19, 2000. 28 While the Magistrate Judge included various opinions by Smith's experts regarding the Vessel's condition and the safety equipment on board the Vessel, we do not find it necessary to consider some of those opinions here. We do note that a few months prior to leaving the Vessel, Mifflin replaced the battery in the EPIRB, and then during his final trip on the Vessel, Mifflin manually tested the EPIRB system. 29 On October 9, 2000, Michael Monroe, a marine surveyor, performed a Condition & Value Survey of the Vessel on behalf of a potential buyer. Monroe observed and inspected safety/life-saving equipment, including the following: (1) three Type I Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) without lights, 3 with retro-reflective tape; (2) three survival suits with chem-lights and retro-reflective tape; (3) one Viking inflatable four-person life raft with hydrostatic release; and (4) one Guest 406 EPIRB with hydrostatic release. 30 The last time the life raft had been serviced or inspected prior to October 23, 2000 was on August 17, 1999. The parties dispute whether there were lights on the Type I PFDs. We can assume there were not. Smith does not know the last time the life jackets were checked or serviced, nor when the lights on the Vessel's survival suits were last inspected. 31 The Vessel's EPIRB was purchased on January 25, 1999, and Smith does not know when the EPIRB was installed on the Vessel. The EPIRB was registered on February 16, 1999. A Litton hydrostatic release was installed for the Vessel's previous EPIRB on September 7, 1996. Smith does not know whether this was the same hydrostatic release used for the EPIRB on the Vessel on October 23, 2000. Smith has no records showing that he purchased a new hydrostatic release at the time he purchased a new EPIRB in January 1999, and no records showing that he purchased a new hydrostatic release for the EPIRB at any time after September 7, 1996. He also has no records showing that the hydrostatic release for the EPIRB was ever inspected. 32 On October 23, 2000, Minott took the Vessel out on a solo fishing trip. He left port on the Vessel at approximately 3:00 a.m. that day. On October 24, 2000, at 3:36 a.m. the Coast Guard received an EPIRB distress signal from the Vessel. A second signal was received thirty-nine minutes later, and the distance between the two EPIRB hits was approximately eleven nautical miles. Thus, the speed of the EPIRB device between the first and second EPIRB signals was approximately seventeen knots. The Vessel could not have traveled that distance in that amount of time under its own power. The top speed of the Vessel was only ten knots, and the speed at which the Vessel could travel if the fishing nets were out was only 2.3 to 3.5 knots. 33 The Vessel and its life raft were never found. Captain Minott's body was recovered and the medical examiner's autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning. 34 Based on the defendant's Statement of Material Facts and the affidavit of defendant's expert, DuBois, the Magistrate Judge posited that the likely cause of the sinking of the Vessel was that it was struck and dragged by another vessel, and that this must have been a catastrophic event that separated Minott from the Vessel before he had a chance to reach any of the safety equipment. While the time and distance between the two EPIRB signals suggests that there was an outside force involved in the incident, we simply do not know what happened or whether Minott had any time to react. Therefore, the inclusion of this hypothesis, which is not favorable to the plaintiff, is not appropriately considered in ruling on a motion for summary judgment for the defendant, and it will not be considered here.