SBI Lawsuits

[Bobcat]

Powerboat lawsuits trudge forward
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A Broward County judge has denied a powerboat organization's motion to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit, and the case has been scheduled for trial, according to court records and published media reports.

Page Motorsports throttle man Joey Gratton, 59, drowned at the 2011 Key West World Championship powerboat races during a particularly deadly week of racing.

The twin-engine, 38-foot Douglas Marine Skater catamaran he was driving overturned on the first turn in the final lap of the second race on the 6.1-mile course, trapping Gratton in a rescue harness that was secured to the boat.

His widow, Priscilla Gratton, accuses race organizers of using rescue personnel unfamiliar with the cockpits and emergency hatches on the boats.

Gratton sued Super Boat International, which had argued that the lawsuit should be dropped based on waivers that racers sign who participate, according to media reports.

The trial has been continued multiple times.

Gratton's attorney, Michael Allweiss, and SBI's attorney, William Milliken, could not be reached for comment.

Gratton was one of three men to die in the 2011 powerboat races in Key West.

Throttleman and owner Robert "Bob" Morgan, 74, of Sunrise Beach, Mo., and driver Jeffrey "J.T." Tillman, 47, of Kaiser, Mo., were killed when their four-engine, 46-foot catamaran called Big Thunder caught air and flipped over on its third lap in Key West Harbor.

William Tillman, a relative of Tillman, filed a lawsuit against SBI in November. That lawsuit also accuses race organizers of using untrained rescue personnel.

That case remains pending, also in Broward County.

No criminal charges have been filed in either incident. All three men's deaths were ruled accidental by medical examiners.

alinhardt@keynews.com

[Ratickle]

This suit has been amazingly slow to move in my opinion. It seems to be scheduled and rescheduled over and over. It is a really tough one when so many of those involved on both sides are people I know. Joey was one heck of a good guy.