Federal appeals court rules on case about a boat fire caused by a faulty repair

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled on a case where a boat engine fire was caused by a faulty repair.

The incident occurred on September, 2006 at a marina in Anacortes, Washington where the M/V CHUG was docked. Boat owner Curtis Oswalt smelled burning coolant wafting out of the heater and asked Jeff Albrecht, a local repair shop general manager, to fix the problem.

While in the middle of repairing the heater, Albrecht was called to move another boat in the marina. He returned approximately 30 minutes later to discover the boat was on fire.  

Oswalt filed suit against Albrecht's employer, Resolute Industries, Inc., for negligence and breach of contract. Resolute in turn filed a third party suit against Webasto Products NA, Inc., the heater's manufacturer, alleging the fire was caused by defective design, inadequate instructions and warnings.

The district court granted summary judgment to Webasto for Resolute's claim.  Then, following a two-day bench trial, the court held that Resolute breached the warranty when Albrecht moved the burner to a position virtually certain to cause a fire if the power was not first turned off. Oswalt was awarded over $200,000 in damages which included hotel expenses while the boat was being repaired.

In the appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court affirmed the district court's summary judgment to Webasto for Resolute's inadequate warnings claims but "erroneously granted summary judgment on the design defect claim." The court also concluded that the district court had properly held Resolute liable for the implied warranty claim of Oswalt.

Read aboout Curtis Oswalt v. Resolute Industries Inc. in our article library here.

Source: Hawaii Ocean Law.com