Yacht Stranded Off of KW

[Bobcat]

Might actually move.Settlement possible in Legacy lawsuit
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A judge has ordered both parties in the civil suit between the owner of a 158-foot luxury sailing yacht ravaged by Hurricane Wilma and several insurance companies to prepare settlement agreements before sending the case to trial.



Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Brown ordered the confidential documents prepared by May 6 in the case between Wall Street Mogul Peter Halmos and several companies who insured his vessel, the Legacy. Halmos is seeking repair costs from the Insurance Co. of North America, a subsidiary of Ace Ltd. and Strickland Marine Insurance Inc.



"It (the settlement) shall include the real goals of settlement (i.e. the real amount sought or to be offered) with full knowledge that it is for the court's eyes only," records state. "Submission of a statement deemed to be frivolous or for ulterior purposes shall result in a cancellation of the settlement conference and the imposition of severe sanctions."



The judge wrote that the conference is only an attempt to reach an agreement without going to trial. Whether or not both sides can reach a deal is unclear, as both sides have been battling for the last five years.


If a settlement cannot be reached, the case will go to trial this summer. However, the trial will be heard in Miami instead of Key West.



The reason behind the move was not made clear in court records. Judges often change venues as a result of scheduling conflicts between Key West and Miami



The Legacy was grounded on the edge of the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge after Wilma's winds pushed it more than a mile through Calda Channel.



The Legacy was locked to the seafloor in several feet of sandy muck for 2¬½ years before Halmos and his team of salvors managed to tow it to Man of War Harbor off Fleming Key, where its battered hull remains today under the watchful eye of Halmos' employees.



The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) also was at loggerheads with Halmos as they claimed the sailboat damaged fragile seagrass. Halmos was embroiled with NOAA for years over how to remove the boat from the sea floor.



Halmos argues that the insurance companies owe him millions from that litigation, because he paid to have the boat removed out of his own pocket, when the insurance should have picked up the tab, records say.



Halmos filed a 97-page lawsuit on Feb. 12 against the insurance companies demanding a jury trial. It is the third amended complaint he's filed.