United States Eighth Circuit

In a personal injury action arising from a boat accident, district court's judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) substantial evidence supported district court's conclusion that defendant breached a duty of reasonable care to plaintiff by bringing the boat to planing speed when plaintiff was seated on the bow cushion; 2) district court did not clearly err in finding that defendant's negligent operation of the boat was a proximate and substantial cause of plaintiff's injuries; and 3) district court erred in awarding plaintiff's spouse damages for loss of consortium as there is no well-settled admiralty rule authorizing such damages for spouses of non-seafarers negligently injured beyond the territorial waters of the United States.

Appellate Information

• Decided 09/02/2009
• Published 09/02/2009

Judges

• COLLOTON, Circuit Judge., Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, HANSEN and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Francie C. Riedmann, argued, Omaha, NE, Thomas A. Grennan, Omaha, NE and George Soule, Minneapolis, MN, on the brief, for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Joseph B. Muller, argued, Ronald Palagi and Joseph B. Muller, on the brief, Omaha, NE, for appellee.