Montego Bay Imports, Ltd. v The UNITED STATES I (U.S. Cl. Ct. 1986)
Sep 29, 1986OUTCOME: Dismissed & Transferred to District Court
ROUND ONE: The Plaintiffs in this case owned a merchant vessel, the CHANTAL S, that operated between the United States and Jamaica. On April 16, 1985, on its final voyage from Jamaica, the U.S. Coast G ... uard intercepted the vessel off Cuba and arrested the crew for importation of marijuana. The Coast Guard put a skeleton crew aboard the CHANTAL S, and that crew blew out the CHANTAL's engines by trying to keep up with the Coast Guard cutter. Subsequently, the Coast Guard fired on the CHANTAL, turned its fire hoses on it to sink it, and generally hung around for a day until the CHANTAL overturned and drifted off into Cuban waters. Plaintiffs sought compensation from the United States in this initial filing, but the Claims Court dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and transferred the case to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. After a trial before Judge Edward Davis, the District Court ruled that the Coast Guard was not negligent (ROUND II). Plaintiffs later re-filed in the Claims Court, attempting to make out a contract claim. The Claims Court dismissed again, holding that their claim "sounded in tort" (ROUND III).
