Parties agree dive boat fire claims to proceed in state court

Owners of the Conception dive boat that burned in a fire that killed 34 people agreed Friday to allow wrongful death cases to be tried in one consolidated proceeding before a single judge in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The causes of action for wrongful death, personal injury, negligence and product liability will now be pursued against Glen and Dana Fritzler, owners of Truth Aquatics and the Conception vessel as well as designers and retailers of the electronic charging equipment that plaintiffs suspect ignited the fire. The fire occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2019, killing 33 passengers and one crew member who were asleep in the lower deck. No federal criminal charges have been filed against the Fritzlers. The captain of the ship was charged in December with 34 federal counts of seaman's manslaughter.

The stipulation was agreed to by a host of law firms representing the victims' families, along with defense lawyers Stephen G. Larson, Hilary Potashner and Jen C. Won of Larson LLP, who recently took over representing the Fritzlers from Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani.

The case was stayed for 16 months after the Fritzlers invoked an 1851 maritime statute seeking to limit liability in federal court three days after the incident. The limitation of liability action paused any complaints from being filed and prohibited victims from suing the Fritzlers anywhere but in federal court.

The savings to suitors clause in the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 gives victims a right to pick a forum and try their cases before a jury. Friday's stipulation now protects the Fritzlers' rights to have their limitation determined under admiralty law, while also preserving the victims' rights to proceed in a single case before one judge in the complex litigation department.

John R. Hillsman of McGuinn Hillsman & Palefsky, said he will file separate actions on behalf of Jasmine Lord, Christine Dignam, Yuka Merrit and Victoria Moore. Hillsman also said he plans to pursue the designers, makers, wholesalers and retailers of the electronic equipment that might have started the fire.

According to some of the preliminary evidence Hillsman obtained, one of the passengers took a color photo of the charging station two nights before the tragedy, which was uploaded onto the iCloud. The electronic items that were plugged into the charging stations were GoPro cameras, underwater lights, cell phones and laptop computers.

"We know exactly what the charging station looks like. There were four lithium batteries charging in that station," Hillsman said. "The only ways in and out of that bunkroom ended up in the very room where the fire originated. They had no way out."

Claims regarding product liability and negligent design of the boat stems from the charging station that was powered by lithium batteries that was in the public area of the boat, directly above the deck where passengers were asleep, Hillsman said.

A spokesperson for Larson LLP declined to comment beyond Friday's filing.

Bringing the action in superior court now allows the plaintiffs to sue other parties and continue investigating the cause of the fire and keep all witnesses, discovery and testimony in one forum, said Jeffrey P. Goodman of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett & Bendesky in Pennsylvania. Goodman represents 24 individuals in the case.

"The litigation process is complex, has a lot of logistical, procedural hurdles we have to get through, but the filing today is another step forward in ensuring an efficient litigation process to get the victims the answers they desperately need and hold the defendants responsible," Goodman said.

The law that governs the claims remains the same, which is federal admiralty and maritime. State courts can hear admiralty cases but must apply federal maritime law.

The limitation action pending before U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson is stayed until the state court cases are adjudicated. Once all have been adjudicated, the victims' families will return to federal court and try the limitation claims. From there, Anderson will decide whether or not to limit the victims' claims to the value of the Conception at the time it was destroyed. The Fritzlers, under the law, must prove the incident occurred without privity or knowledge to fend off liability or reduce it. In the matter of the Complaint of Truth Aquatics, Inc. et al., 2:19-CV-07693 (C.D. Cal., filed Sept. 5, 2019)