California dive boat owners file lawsuit to avoid liability after deadly fireFox News, Sep 5, 2019
The owners of the California dive boat where 34 people died in a fire over the weekend have filed a lawsuit to avoid liability in the case, as investigators say the crew of the ship made several attempts to save victims who were trapped by the blaze.
Truth Aquatics Inc. filed suit Thursday in Los Angeles federal court under a pre-Civil War provision of maritime law that allows it to limit its liability.
The suit said the company and owners Glen and Dana Fritzler “used reasonable care to make the Conception seaworthy, and she was, at all relevant times, tight, staunch, and strong, fully and properly manned, equipped and supplied and in all respects seaworthy and fit for the service in which she was engaged.â€
Anyone who could make a claim against the company would be served with notice that the firm was asserting it was not liable for damages and victims will have a limited time to challenge that claim.
Such laws have their origins in 18th century England and are designed to encourage the shipping business. The U.S. law dates to 1851.
The time-tested legal maneuver has been successfully employed by owners of the Titanic and countless other crafts, and many maritime law experts said they'd anticipated it. Still, the speed with which it was filed, just three days after the deadly inferno Monday in which all passengers on the boat and one crew member died, struck some observers as being in poor taste.
More:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/conception-dive-boat-owners-lawsuit-liability-rescue-attempts
