JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local attorney representing two families who lost loved ones aboard sunken cargo ship El Faro says the ship owner’s request for limited liability and to be exonerated altogether should be denied.
El Faro sank Oct. 1 off the coast of the Bahamas during Hurricane Joaquin with 33 people on board.
Investigators found the wreckage 15,000 feet below the ocean’s surface and are still looking into what went wrong. The Voyage Data Recorder, a critical piece of evidence, broke away from the wreckage and likely will never be found.
Attorney Steve Pajcic filed a motion Monday night asking a federal judge to throw out TOTE Maritime’s request for limited liability or exoneration in connection with the sinking of El Faro.
The motion claims that “the ship owners not only had knowledge and privity of the captain’s reckless plan, they were parties to it.”
Pajcic said TOTE"s case should be dismissed and the plaintiffs should be able to proceed with their case, suing for damages for the families.
Pajcic's motion asks a federal judge to dismiss a request made by the owners of El Faro to limit their financial liability on behalf of the families of two people on board.
TOTE Maritime Services filed a motion "restraining prosecution of all lawsuits and claims," citing a limited liability law passed in 1851.
Pajcic said times have changed.
“They are relying on an 1851 (ruling), when maybe ship owners didn't know what happened to the ship when it got out to the sea and maybe didn't have any connection to the negligence, but here, we know for sure that the ship owners knew exactly what the plan was going to be, where the ship was going, exactly where it was at all times, where the hurricane was and where it was at all times,” Pajcic said.
Pajcic attached a map to the motion that shows the course of El Faro and the course of Hurricane Joaquin, which he said was available online and in real time.
Also attached was a transcript from a news conference that TOTE Martime’s president and CEO gave in the days after the ship sank.
A reporter asked if the company could override the captain of the ship, and the officials said, “We certainly can,” and “Absolutely.”
The motion highlights Anthony Chiarello’s quote: “I’m the president and CEO of TOTE, so the responsibility ends with me.”
Pajcic said it’s been tough for his clients.
“On the one hand, they hear the ship owner say, 'Well, we accept responsibility,'” Pajcic said. “Then they go file something in federal court trying to limit their liability and exonerate themselves from responsibility.”
A judge will ultimately rule on TOTE Maritime’s request, but as that process unfolds, Pajcic’s clients and other family members of El Faro crew members can’t file suit.
That’s why Pajcic believes that his motion is important.
“Justice delayed can sometimes be justice denied,” Pajcic said. “And when you have delays that carry on that can put pressure on victims and victims’ families too, I want this over with, you know, and part of our responsibility is to get this done as quickly as we can, as long it's done fairly and with justice.”
TOTE has 14 days to respond to Pajcic's motion.
