Boat Held Hostage By Marine Transport Company

[Rocketman]

Creole
Are you able to talk with the mover?

Does he want more money BEFORE moving it any further?

Do you know the exact location of your boat?

Have you talked with a laywer?

When was the boat supost to be delivered?

Does the mover say that he can move it now or are further repairs needed before it can be moved again?

How many more miles does he still have left to go and what is the likely hood that his equipment can handle it?

How does he know the exact weight of the boat? Can he provide proof of it?

If you can answer some of these questions we might be able to help, there are people on the forum that live all over the USA and someone might be able at least take a look for you, maybe take a pic or 2.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

We may be debating semantics but an enforceable agreement (contract) must be "legally binding" to be a contract. In this case, from what we are told, no contractual understanding, agreement or obligation exists. There is no contract. The question of proof derives from a dispute of a contract term. There are none.

In the context of a verbal contract, both parties must have a common understanding of the conditions under which duties are to be executed. When both parties are adversarial, there is no common understanding and therefore no (verbal) contract.

This scenario play out every day in various permutations with the same predictable result.

I agree some of our discussion is stuck in semantics but I still argue that there is, by strict legal definition and based on the information we have, a contract between the OP and the carrier. Verbal agreements (yes, yes I completely understand and agree that they may be difficult to enforce without proof or documentation of who said what to whom and when), emails, faxes can all constitute a legally binding agreement or contract.

Again I am not a lawyer but base this on 20 years experience and millions of dollars in sales including informal and formal, written by our lawyers contracts to fortune 500 companies and legal opinions and recommendations from the same lawyers in regard to company commitments and liabilities based on everything from phone calls to emails and faxes.

Seems like there is a concurring opinion as well from JayCall.

But still, I think we are in complete agreement that the OP should get a lawyer involved to sort out the specifics of his situation. Half-baked opinions from someone like me who also has very limited, second hand knowledge of the problem are worth exactly what the OP paid to subscribe to the forum.

[CPseudonym]

The title of this thread should be changed to "The Blind Leading the Blind"


Have you talked to an attorney?

Have you contacted law enforcement?


Those are the ONLY two entities that will help you clean up this mess. Not 10 pages of posts mostly from folks as confused about the matter as you are. And definitely discount the posts that tell you they will be of no help at all. Lawyers are not that expensive and police departments have a walk up desk that has better information than nine pages of this thread. This could have been resolved 3 days ago IMO/YMMV.

[tomfl]

There are multiple issues here. Perhaps the most important one is the practical one.

No one should be surprised to learn trucks hauling goods break down all the time, most of us have seen them along the side of the road as we go about our daily routine. The normal course of events when a truck hauling a load on a trailer breaks down is that a working truck is sent to the break down location, picks up the trailer, and delivers the load to the destination. This happens every day, even with independent truckers who are small time operations. Normally payment is on a per mile basis so the first trucker would be paid for the miles he hauled the load and the second trucker would be paid for the rest of the miles to the destination and get an additional payment for dead heading to the pick up point. So the first question is why this model was not followed in this case.

As others have posted there is a maze of laws, rules, and regulations that have to be waded through. Some of them are clear like both of the parties agreed to a certain action for a certain consideration which is the definition of a contract. While not all the details of the contract are clear there are also some implied conditions of the contract like the trucker by implication has the capability to fulfill the contract. There are also rules and regulations relating to truckers using public roads. Lots of truckers claim the rules and regulations are so complex and complicated that it is impossible to not break some of them even with the best intentions. Bottom line here is that the trucker, certainly by implication, agreed to deliver the boat to a certain place at a certain time for a certain price obeying all the rules. If push comes to shove in court he will be in a pickle. Even under the best case the trucker's business might be forced to close and the trucker could lose his livelyhood if this goes to court since the trucker seems to be claiming he was carrying a load in excess of the maximum load his truck/trailer was capable of carrying. There is also the issue of bonding and insurance being revoked.

But the bottom line is how does the OP get his boat in the water so he can sail off into the sunset. One post said the best course of action might be to pay the trucker $US500 to get his boat and leave it at that. Sometimes fighting costs more than it is worth.

[tropicalescape]

As bad as it sounds the trucker has won the first round....I would not throw good money after bad by paying a lawer,he is(most likely) going to be like the trucker,he has car payments too! good luck...

[Rocketman]

To me, it sounds like the guy that has the boat now, doesn't have the proper equepment to handle this job. I would not give him a dime more until I knew if his equipment could handle it. He still has a long way to go to deliver the boat. I would be inclined to write off what I have spent to this point to an expencive leason, then find a repitable mover to continue the move.

[CCBullseye]

What bothers me about this thing is the weight and equipment do not add up. You said the boat weighs less than 10 tons, truck driver claims boat weighs a tad over 12 tons. A truck larger than a 1 ton pick up can pull that load. Each truck has a DOT rating for max load weight. He as well of every scale he goes over knows this. If his rated load weight is less than the weight of the boat, then he is at fault for accepting the load after getting it resettled. Also, it is most likely that he went over DOT scales on the road. If he was over the weight, then he should have stopped. If his equipment is not able to handle the rated load weight, then he is at fault for not having safe equipment. I don't see how he could have any claim. That being said,the old saying, possession is nine tenths of the law,and he has possession. It is always better to try to work things out in a friendly matter. At least try to sit down with him and talk with him and find out his point of view and what is going on in his life which has lead him to have a rig which is so broken down. Blown tires, bad rims (six is bizarre), blown trany, there is a lot more going on in his life than just bad luck. Sounds like he has a robbing Peter to pay Paul lifestyle. Is he bonded? I would contact his bond company and let them be in the loop. If he isn't bonded, then you are going to pay big time to get out of this, either lawyers, which can't get blood out of a turnip, or just pay his ransom. Read the contract, figure out what your rights and his rights are. Good luck with this.

[fstbttms]

This sounds like one of those guys who advertise on craigslist, guys who own a big dually pickup truck and a trailer, trying to make a few bucks on the side. Not a truly professional hauler. Caveat emptor for sure.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

My guess is that by the time the lawsuits are over the police and dealership will have paid him a lot more money than he paid for the truck.

[CREOLE-BELLE]

I have contacted law enforcement and a lawyer. Don't want to put up detail regarding these visits since this guy could be monitoring this thread.

I could certainly use help in finding the boat. Either the boat is stashed somewhere on the East Coast.....low probability or it is off loaded or on a 3 axle trailer in a storage yard either in El Paso TX or up to 200 miles west of El Paso TX. I think it was moved west from South Carolina to El Paso on September 4th -7th. I am attaching a photo. She has a green hull, wide white boot stripe with a narrow red boot stripe centered in the white stripe. Deck is white. She is really a sweet boat, 31 or 33 built by Kaiser Yachts. Yacht View Brokerage, LLC (Annapolis, MD)
I'm aware that I can start calling storage yards. My wife and I, both in our 70's are a bit worn down and also needing to deal with some family matters at the same time. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU

[CREOLE-BELLE]

NEED TO SIGN OUT UNTIL TOMORROW

[bobconnie]

If this driver and load made it from SC to almost New Mexico(El Paso TX.) He had to go thru some weight stations !!If this load was over load for his trailor or truck, he would have had a problem long before Texas!! Somethings real wrong with this whole thing !! If the weights right, and he has a leagle load, then his equipment was worn out and he's trying to get it fixed for free !! or he just wants more money !! He had to be running under a wide load signs so he was checked at EVERY state line weight station he passed thru !! And no way did he skip ALL the weight stations between SC and Texas!! just sayin this will get a lot more messed up before it gets over and done with !! Just my 2 cents

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by tropicalescape

As bad as it sounds the trucker has won the first round....I would not throw good money after bad by paying a lawer,he is(most likely) going to be like the trucker,he has car payments too! good luck...

This may be a case of winning the battle and losing the war. Commercial truck drivers require multiple licenses and permits both for themselves and their vehicles, not to mention insurance and bonding. If they get caught too many times it can mean jail time, even if it is just fines that can add up in a hurry. Not to mention state DOTs can impound the trailer and keep it at a weigh station, and can impound trucks as well.

Lawyers have to deal with a state bar association and most of them have a low get in the door price. The lawyer may well have his legal aid call up the Texas DOT and Texas Rangers and the trucker's insurance company. This should get the OP a big bang for his buck.

I still have lots of questions, but I will bet the lawyer the OP retained knows the answers or where to get the answers.

[lateral]

I would have said at the very outset (by email) that unless we can meet at the boat, face to face, & sort problem, I am charging you with theft. (Denial of access to my boat, failure to deliver as promised & sic Insurance co on to carrier.)
Ain't this is what we have insurance for?

Bares up the use of a gps transponder when shifting something more valuable than the wife.

Might have to send son (or grandson). At seventy something, grief like this can well be done without. Best wishes for a good outcome.

[Carl-T705]

A 70 year old couple with a nice boat, My hats off to you both. You need professional help here. Think about this for a second, Who has tire, wheel bearing problems with a vehicle on 6 wheels all at the same time????
I'm so sorry for both of you, I'm leaving N. Carolina tonight for Houston TX, I'll keep an eye out for your boat along the route.
I really don't think this man set out to intently rip you off, it's just that he is broke and desperate for help and you are his only resource at this point.
Most truckers are professionals, but like any industry, it has it's losers and scammers.
Also for the ignorant person who posted he bought lunch for two truckers at a "redneck truckers bar" what exactly is that supposed to mean?? Is that how you attempt to boost your image by slamming an entire industry??