Alaskan Sea-Duction
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Judge dismisses charges in Missouri duck boat accident
- Thread starter Alaskan Sea-Duction
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The friendliest place on the web for anyone who enjoys boating.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
twistedtree
Guru
Interesting. So they basically said it's not a federal case because it was not a federal waterway, and that it should be taken up as a state case.
BruceK
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Seems so. Court didn`t get to the issues. Prosecuting authority lacked standing/jurisdiction to prosecute.
twistedtree
Guru
Right. It was a jurisdiction/venue ruling, and not an exoneration of any kind. So it really wasn't a dismissal of charges which would imply exoneration. Just a decision that it's a State issue, not a Federal one.
ctjstr
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I haven't followed this one as much as the seattle case. I recall the missouri families had filed a 100 million dollar civil case shortly after the accident and that some had settled, but no terms were disclosed. that I saw. Given what I've seen on how it happened, its hard to imagine that the company won't be paying out a ton of money. At the end of the day, not sure what is better for society, a criminal conviction, or a company paying out settlements for injuries it causes. i know the seattle case generated an early settlement for some folks, I think for about 4 million, but eventually most of the cases were combined and a jury awarded 123 million, apportioned between several defendants. I'd have to guess that even Karen Koehler, the lawyer from Paul Stritmatter's firm who tried the case had to be surprised by that number. I'm not a fan of hers; she goes by the name "the velvet hammar". Ick. In the seattle case, I believe there were some civil penalties against the company for various code violations, but don't recall any criminal charges. I think the moral is that if you take paying passengers on your boat, you better have a big boy insurance policy and a strong corporate shield in place.
psneeld
Guru
Surprising as the USCG patrols the lake during peak periods and a quick look shows the lake is both in MO and AR. Always had heard a lake not totally confined within the boarders of a state fell under federal law too.
