Wrecked ship's owners dispute verdict.Byline: LARRY BACON The Register-Guard 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. - Claiming lack of evidence and court errors, owners of
the shipwrecked New Carissa  The M/V New Carissa have asked a Coos County Coos County is the name of two counties in the United States:
On Nov. 13 a Coos County jury found that the ill-fated ship's owners should pay the state for removal of the wreckage that remains on the Coos Bay North Spit. 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. heard brief oral arguments Thursday on a motion to overturn the verdict. The same motion asks that if the verdict is not overturned, that the judge grant a new trial. Barron has taken the motion under advisement Deliberation; consultation. A court takes a case under advisement after it has heard the arguments made by the counsel of opposing sides in the lawsuit but before it renders its decision. ADVISEMENT. pending his review of lengthy arguments filed by the state and the owners of the ship - two Japanese corporations, Taiheiyo Kaiun Co. Ltd. and TMM TMM The ISO 4217 currency code for the Turkmenistan Manet. Co. Ltd., and Green Atlas Shipping, S.A., of Panama. In their motion, the owners argue that a lack of evidence and numerous errors on the part of the court are sufficient for a new verdict or a new trial. The 639-foot New Carissa went 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, triggering a spectacular series of events. First the ship broke in half, leaking about 70,000 gallons of fuel oil along the coast. Then the front section broke loose from a tow and came ashore near Waldport before being sunk in the deep ocean. The 1,500-ton stern section, in two pieces, remains on the North Spit mired mire n. 1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. 2. Deep slimy soil or mud. 3. A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty. v. in the sand in the surf zone. William Wheatley, a Eugene attorney hired to represent the state, said the motion was to be expected. "This has been a hard-fought case, and with $25 million at stake, obviously the defendants are disappointed with the verdict," he said. Wheatley said the New Carissa owners are also expected to appeal the verdict to the Oregon Court of Appeals The Oregon Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court in the U.S. state of Oregon. Except for death penalty cases, which are reserved to the Oregon Supreme Court, and tax court cases, it has jurisdiction to hear all civil and criminal appeals from circuit courts, , and the state of Oregon probably will not receive the $25 million - earmarked for hiring a salvage company to remove the stern wreckage - anytime soon. "If it goes to the Court of Appeals you can expect at least a year (of litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. ) assuming it doesn't settle before that," he said. However, if an appeal is filed, the attorney said, the ship's owners will be required to post a $25 million bond and pay the state 9 percent annual interest on the judgment. If that bond is not posted, he said, the state would be authorized to take possession of one of the other ships owned by the defendants to satisfy the require- ment. Considering the state's current financial problems, the salvage effort isn't expected to begin until the money is available, Wheatley said. Meanwhile, he said, a complicated set of legal deadlines has come into play regarding the motion. Attorneys for the New Carissa owners were required to file their motion to overturn the verdict or to ask for a new trial within 10 days of the judgment date, Wheatley said. The motion was faxed on the 10th day. The attorneys for the state balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. , arguing that a faxed motion does not meet statutory requirements. The actual motion was not received by the court clerk until the 11th day, Wheatley said, so the judge should not even consider it. Barron is expected to rule Monday on whether the motion should be considered. If he does consider it, he has until Jan. 21 to make a ruling. If he takes no action before Jan. 21, the motion is considered denied. Making the matter even more complex are Oregon Court of Appeals filing deadlines. The ship's owners have 30 days to appeal from the time Barron either turns down the motion or fails to act by Jan. 21. But if the judge accepts the state's argument that the motion was improperly filed, the 30 days run from the date of judgment - meaning the Court of Appeals filing would have to happen by Dec. 26. The attorneys for the New Carissa urged Barron after Thursday's hearing to notify them immediately if he decided to consider their motion, Wheatley said. |
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