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Ennia General Insurance Company, Ltd. vs. Leroy Ferguson and Arlington Ferguson
Dade County Case No. 83-3142
Judge Spellman
ADMIRALTY INSURANCE COVERAGE: Ennia General Insurance Company, Ltd., brought a Declaratory Judgment Action seeking to be absolved of all liability to defendant, Leroy Ferguson and Arlington Ferguson under a commercial hull insurance policy issued to them and insuring the vessel M/V Commonwealth. Defendants answered and counterclaimed to have the policy declared valid and enforceable, and seeking the agreed value of the vessel, cost, interest, attorney's fees, lost profits and punitive damages. The M/V Commonwealth was a steel hulled diesel powered motor vessel, about 82 feet long, with a beam of 22 feet six inches, and an average draft of six feet. The vessel was purchased in 1976 and was used in the inter-island transport of mail, passengers and limited cargo, under contract to the Ministry of Transport of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. On October 3, 1983, the M/V Commonwealth took on water and sank, without loss of life. The Ferguson's had no explanation as to what caused the leak. Ennia claimed that in the absence of a known cause for the leak, the vessel's loss was not covered.
Case settled prior to trial: $259,000.00
