Rule Against City
Can't Limit Liability For Ferry Payouts

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

A Federal judge ruled last week that the city can't cap its liability for the deadly 2003 ferry crash that took the lives of 11 passengers and maimed more than 100 others.

MICHAEL A. CARDOZO: 'City wasn't negligent.'

In his Feb. 27 decision U.S. District Court Judge Edward R. Korman said the city's Law Department couldn't invoke the 1851 Limitation of Liability Act that would have capped its liability at $14.4 million - the value of the hull of the Andrew J. Barberi ferry that slammed into a Staten Island pier.

A spokeswoman for the city said it was considering an appeal.

Scores of Plaintiffs

As a result of Judge Korman's decision, the nearly 100 plaintiffs suing the city can go forward with their individual cases, said Anthony Bisignano, a Staten Island lawyer who represents 10 people who were hurt during the Oct. 15 crash.

The city settled 33 suits for $1.7 million in 2004.

The Andrew J. Barberi smashed into a maintenance pier near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal at its full speed of 14 to 16 knots, or 16 to 18 m.p.h., after Assistant Captain Richard J. Smith suffered a momentary blackout at the wheel. Contrary to standard operating procedure, which calls for two people to be present during embarking and docking, Mr. Smith was alone in the pilothouse. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in the disaster.

The former Director of Ferry Operations, Patrick Ryan, was later convicted of one count each of seaman's manslaughter and making a false statement. He was sentenced to 366 days in prison. Court papers showed that Mr. Ryan in his plea allocution acknowledged that he knew ferry crews were not following standard operating procedures. The plaintiffs have argued that his admission makes the city liable for the accident.

Negligence Key Issue

Lawyers for the city maintain that any liability it might have for the accident should be limited to the value of the ferry's hull, but Judge Korman observed that both sides had already agreed that Mr. Ryan's negligence nullified the city's stance.

"At the time the accident occurred, the internal rules were neither well understood nor effectively enforced. The Staten Island Ferry had no formal safety management system. There was no single manual that was readily accessible to crew members. There was no mechanism to monitor who had received the procedures and at what time. And there was no system for ensuring that the rules were actually obeyed," Judge Korman wrote in his decision.

He added that "the blame for this laxity lies squarely on the shoulders of the city."

Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo responded in a statement: "The court has already found [Mr. Ryan] criminally responsible for his actions. We respectfully disagree with the court's conclusion that the city was negligent with regard to this accident. We believe that the ferry's policies and practices were safe on Oct. 15, 2003, as they have been throughout its hundred-year history."