New Carissa's owner sends $25 million.Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard CORRECTION (ran 1/15/03): The headline on a story on Page 1C in Tuesday's newspaper incorrectly referred to a $25 million cash payment to the state by the owners of the New Carissa  The M/V New Carissa as a bond. By making the payment the owners of the wrecked freighter avoided buying a bond in that amount, which would have been more expensive. The money, which would compensate the state for removing the ship's remains from the Coos Bay Coos Bay (k  s), city (1990 pop. 15,076), Coos co., SW Oreg., a port of entry on Coos Bay; founded 1854 as Marshfield, inc. 1874, renamed 1944. North Spit, is being held pending the outcome of the
owners' appeal of an adverse Coos County Coos County is the name of two counties in the United States:
State Department of Justice officials expect to receive a wire transfer of $25 million today from the owners of the shipwrecked New Carissa as a result of a Nov. 13 Coos County Circuit Court jury verdict. However, an attorney representing the state in the lawsuit that led to the verdict said Monday that the payment was being made to allow the New Carissa owners to move forward with an appeal to the state Court of Appeals. The state will hold the money in a special account pending the outcome of that appeal, he said. Attorney William Wheatley William Wheatley (1816-76) was an American Stage actor, born in New York City. He was the son of Frederick Wheatley, once a favorite actor in Baltimore and Philadelphia. His mother, who died in 1873, was an admirable and a justly renowned actress. of Eugene, hired by the state to try to force the ship owners to pay for removal of the 1,500-ton stern section of the New Carissa, which remains on the Coos Bay North Spit, said he expected the ship owners to post a $25 million bond so they could move forward with an appeal. But the ship's insurer apparently decided that it would be cheaper to send the cash to the state, Wheatley said. He estimated that posting a bond would probably have cost the owners 10 percent of the total posted. And they would have had to pay 9 percent interest on the $25 million while the appeal was pending, he said. "From my point of view, it (the cash payment) is very desirable," he said. That's because it ensures payment to the state if any of the three ownership interests named in the original lawsuit are determined by the appeals court to be liable, he said. The defendants in the lawsuit are Taiheiyo Kaiun Co. Ltd. of Japan and two subsidiaries, TMM TMM The ISO 4217 currency code for the Turkmenistan Manet. Co. Ltd. of Japan and Green Atlas Shipping S.A., of Panama. Taiheiyo Kaiun has extensive assets but it's very likely the other two have none, Wheatley said. He said he had been worried that the appeals court might limit the owners' liability to one or both of the subsidiaries. Without a bond or payment to the state pending the outcome of the appeal, Wheatley said, the state could have taken legal action to seize a ship or other assets other assets Assets of relatively small value. For financial reporting purposes, firms frequently combine small assets into a single category rather than listing each item separately. of Taiheiyo Kaiun. Melinda Merrill, a member of a Portland public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most firm that has acted as spokesman for the New Carissa owners, had no comment Monday. The $25 million Coos County jury award was intended to cover the state's cost in hiring a salvage company to remove the ship's remains. It ran aground a·ground adv. & adj. 1. Onto or on a shore, reef, or the bottom of a body of water: a ship that ran aground; a ship aground offshore. 2. Feb. 4, 1999, subsequently broke in half and leaked 70,000 gallons of fuel oil on the coast. The bow section broke loose from a tow and came ashore near Waldport before being towed out to sea for deep-water disposal. Wheatley said the appeals process could take a year or more. He said it hadn't been determined whether the $25 million payment relieves the New Carissa owners of paying the 9 percent interest during the appeals period. The New Carissa owners filed notice of appeal to the state Supreme Court on Dec. 26, based on alleged errors committed by the court during the trial. However, Wheatley said the state intends to file a "motion of determination" that would send the case back to Coos County. He said the owners' notice was filed before Judge Richard Barron Richard Barron (Lama Chökyi Nyima) is a Canadian-born translator who specializes in the writings of Longchenpa. He has served as an interpreter for many lamas from all from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, including his first teacher, Kalu Rinpoche. had a chance to rule on a defense motion to overturn the verdict or grant a new trial. Last Friday, Barron send a letter to attorneys for both sides saying the state Supreme Court appeal had removed the case from his jurisdiction. The letter included rebuttal rebuttal n. evidence introduced to counter, disprove or contradict the opposition's evidence or a presumption, or responsive legal argument. to the allegations of trial court errors that the judge said "may be of assistance to the appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. ." |
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