Big Rock Lawsuit Heats Up

[Fishing Report]

Jacksonville --

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. - The court battle in the controversy surrounding the Big Rock fishing tournament is heating up.

You may recall that the fishing boat Citation was disqualified after it was discovered that one of their crew members didn't have a license when the winning fish was caught.

That disqualification cost the boat more than 1-million dollars in prize money.

Citation's owners filed suit in Dare County earlier this month. And tonight, Big Rock's attorneys are answering back.

In documents obtained exclusively by Eyewitness News 9, both sides lay out their arguments.

Citations owners say they complied with all tournament rules and believe the prize money is rightfully theirs.

But looking at the tournament rules, it specifically says the mate must have a fishing license, Citation's mate, Peter Wann, says he didn’t.

“I said you have a blanket license dont you, and he said no, you have a fishing license dont you, and I said I think I do, I don’t know lets go check on the internet… and it was just a mistake, it was a million dollar mistake,” said Peter Wann, just one day after the Citations disqualification

According to the North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries, Wann was cited for not having that license.

Peter Wann’s name is never mentioned in the Citaiton’s suit. Citations owners say that they didn’t violate any North Carolina statutes, even if a crewmember did, so they shouldn’t be punished.

Big Rock still maintains that Citation had plenty of time to get familiar with the rules.

One last chance was at the Capitan’s meeting the night before the tournament began.

Big rock contends at that meeting tournament officials told everyone to make sure they had a license or it could cost them the 1-million dollar prize.

They say no one from Citation made it to that meeting.

And so a million dollar prize sits in limbo, with the strong possibility the courts will decide the winner.

A judge in the case has halted the distribution of prize money to anyone until a ruling has been made.

Both sides are expected to meet on Friday to discuss a possible out of court solution. Lawyers on both sides tell us regardless their fight presses on.

http://www2.wnct.com/news/2010/jul/2...ats-ar-306251/

[alex n]

Sad, lawyers deciding fishing tournaments, and "out of court solutions" ie. settlement

[Fishing Report]

morehead city — The dispute over the disqualification of the Citation from the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament may be settled soon.

The Citation crew and their attorney are scheduled to meet with the tournament officials and their attorney Friday to try and settle their dispute out of court. The fishing vessel and her crew were disqualified from the tournament after it was discovered the mate that caught the marlin didn’t have a license at the time he caught it.

Andy Gay, an attorney with Gay, Jackson and McNally of Zebulon representing the Citation crew and owners, said both parties have agreed to the meeting to discuss their facts.

“They (the tournament officials) haven’t made their minds up,” Mr. Gay said, meaning they hadn’t decided whether the Citation had violated tournament rules.

According to the suit filed by tournament officials, the Citation crew hooked an 883-pound blue marlin at 3:16 p.m. June 14 during the tournament. However, the mate who hooked the fish acquired his N.C. Coastal Recreational Fishing License over the Internet at 5:51 p.m. as they were bringing the fish in.

Crystal Coast Tournament Inc. said that was a violation of the tournament’s rules and disqualified what would have otherwise been the first-place winner of the tournament. Had the Citation not been disqualified, her crew would have been entitled to a prize of $912,825.

Mr. Gay, however, said Tuesday that when the tournament started, the Citation was 20 miles offshore, well outside the 3-mile offshore boundary that makes up North Carolina’s territorial waters.

“My clients were in international waters,” he said. “They started crossing their t’s and dotting their i’s on the way back. The mate thought he was covered by a blanket saltwater license the vessel had, but it had expired. At 11 miles offshore, he acquired a license.”

The Citation crew and owners filed a suit June 25 for breach of contract in Pasquotank County, with a court hearing scheduled for July 13. This suit was canceled, however, when the tournament officials filed a countersuit in Carteret County June 30 for a court affirmation of the Citation’s disqualification.

http://www.tidelandnews.com/articles...d751609935.txt

[Deep C]

Hmmmmmm...

[rabcoman]

give the man his $$$$$$ this is all bullsh------- who has what, what mile mark, 3 mile or not the guy came in with a great fish. this is y big $$$$$ has no more fun in it. fish all the small $$$$$$ were pp have fun and the kids to.