HANCOCK, Maine — A California woman who owns a cabin and kayak used by a Massachusetts man who drowned in Frenchman Bay during his honeymoon has been absolved of any responsibility in his death, according to federal court documents.
Eric Hogan and his wife, Sarah Kellogg Hogan, of Webster, Mass., had been married for three weeks when they rented a cabin at Hancock Point from its owner, Judith L. Bell of Aromas, Calif.
On June 19, 2011, the day the young couple was due to return to Massachusetts, Hogan used a sit-on-top type of kayak that came with the rental property and went out around 7 a.m. for a paddle alone on Frenchman Bay. Strong winds kicked up later that morning, which officials believe prevented Hogan from returning to shore.
Hogan’s wife reported him missing around 11 a.m., after he had failed to return. When searchers found him floating in the water off Hulls Cove around 1:30 p.m., he was unresponsive.
According to Marine Patrol, the type of kayak Hogan went paddling in offered no protection from wind and waves. Hogan was wearing a life preserver but otherwise was not dressed for the weather conditions, which included wind gusts of more than 30 mph and water temperatures between 55 and 60 degrees. Aside from the life preserver, Hogan was wearing shorts but no shirt, officials said at the time.
Bell filed a complaint in March in U.S District Court in Bangor, seeking to be exonerated or limited from liability in Hogan’s death.
In court filings, Bell said she purchased the paddle boat, manufactured by Ocean Kayak, in May 2009 for $296.61. Bell indicated in her petition that she had not yet been sued but had received a notice of claim that has alerted her to a potential wrongful death lawsuit.
Among documents filed in federal court by Bell’s attorney, William Welte of Camden, is a copy of a letter sent to Bell on Oct. 3, 2011, by attorney Timothy Ryan of Springfield, Mass. In the letter, Ryan indicated he represented Eric Hogan’s estate “in connection with a claim for wrongful death.” Ryan indicated that the information pamphlet that came with the cabin rental advised that renters could use kayaks at the property for their enjoyment.
“Sarah Hogan confirms that had the kayaks not been made available, that Eric would not have gone out that morning,” Ryan wrote in the letter. “It is our contention that the kayak was not seaworthy, that plus the fact you encouraged and allowed individuals such as Eric Hogan to kayak in cold sea water without a wetsuit were the proximate and legal cause of this heart wrenching tragedy.”
Contacted by phone Tuesday, Ryan said he knew nothing about the default judgment and declined comment.
Welte also was contacted by phone on Tuesday afternoon and likewise declined comment.
In court filings, Welte indicated he sent Ryan a letter on Dec. 8, 2011. In the letter, Welte indicates there is no insurance coverage that would apply to Hogan’s death and that the facts of the case do not support any claims of negligence against his client.
In court documents, Welte indicated that he never received any written response from Ryan and spoke to him only once, by phone on March 27, 2012.
“[He] recalled my letter, stated he did not have an answer for me and that he would get back to me in two weeks time,” Welte wrote.
He added he has not heard from Ryan since that phone call.
After receiving Bell’s petition for exoneration on March 29, which was filed within the six-month limit federal law sets for such petitions, federal Judge Nancy Torreson set a filing deadline of June 4, 2012, for anyone who may have wanted to assert a legal claim against Bell in connection with Hogan’s death. No such claim was filed by that deadline, court documents indicate.
Follow BDN reporter Bill Trotter on Twitter at @billtrotter.
Acts like these give lawyers a bad name.
I think they already had one; this just made it worse.
Well, I should hope so !
The property owner should not be charged with anything I thought that since the first time I read anything about it. Just sounds like someone out to get $$.!
Personal responsibility is going the way of manners and common sense. This shouldn’t have been a court case.
It wasn’t. No suit was filed against the kayak’s owner, and no challenge was made to her petition.
HONESTLY!!!! At what point are adults responsible for their choices? Not sure how this family thought the owner was responsible & glad that she was rightfully exonerated.
Nonsense. Consider if it had been a handgun.
OK, it was a handgun.
So what?
Nonsense? If it was a handgun, and the guy had shot himself in the face, it would still be his fault. Operational negligence is the users fault, not the owners.
The point is that people can be counted on to do stupid things, all the time ,everywhere. Don’t give any opportunity to prove it.
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What if it was a six year old.?
Then his mom would’ve been blamed for failing to supervise him.
Then the poor man would have known not to play with it if he didn’t really know how to use it, or had some prior experience with handguns. What if there was a fire and he had a fire extinguisher handy but didn’t know how to use it properly? Would we blame the landlord for any injuries that resulted? Knowing how to safely use things that are put at your disposal is the responsibility of the individual who decides to use them.
How did a handgun get into this thread? Are you a “hoplophobe” (gun fearer, hater?)
I’m a handgun guy, but I wouldn’t leave my handgun where the average moron could touch it.
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What if it had been a bicycle and he fell and knocked his head, what if he was trying to chop some wood to make s’mores at the camp fire using the camp ax and chopped his thumb off, what if he slit his wrist while trying to cut his steak, what if…, what if… what if…? Where does it end? At some point it’s the end user to be responsible for their action.
Actually this is a sad example of people {tourists} doing dumb things due to ignorance of the potential consequences. For example; in this case not realizing that just because the air temperature is friendly (and safe) it does not mean the water temperature is the same.
I learned this the hard way many years ago (1967) when I dove off a boat near an island in Penobscot bay. Fortunately, I was only a short distance from shore and made it safely to shore, but I had a headache that lasted the rest of the day. My midwestern childhood or even several seasons enjoying Sebec Lake in Maine did not mentally prepare me for the 48 to 58 degree temperature of the bay!
The North Atlantic ocean is not a friendly place for humans. With the current legal mentality, it is actually a wonder that the State of Maine was not sued for failure to warn all tourists entering the state to beware of ocean temperatures!
give me a break……stay in Massachusetts…..use you head…..need money?????? How dare you put that cabin owner thru the emotions of a lawsuit when you didn’t use sound judgement…..I am so fed up with sue happy people……
Sorry she lost her husband, but personal responsibility should be the controlling item in these events. Now, if it were Calif. perhaps some court could have ruled for her, even though it was a Federal issue.
Actually, the substantive legal issues of “personal responsibility” and whether the decedent’s survivor has a cause of action against the property owner are ruled by state law, in this case Maine state law because the cabin rental and the death occurred in Maine. Procedural issues in federal court, like the default judgment, are governed by federal law. Default judgments may be set aside for good cause (mistake, inadvertence, newly discovered evidence, etc.). In this case, I think the widow would have a year from the entry of default to move to set it aside, but I don’t think that’s likely to happen here. She has either lost interest in the case, her lawyer &**$@# up, or both. So if a year passes and they do nothing, it’s the end of the matter.
Hallelujah! The wheels of justice finally restored just a little faith in the system. Now she’ll probably sue the federal judge for gross negligence.
WOW a count made the correct ruling?
No question though that the boat was not appropriately seaworthy for that area.
It was 100% seaworthy for that area, its a damn kayak. It was the guy who was not seaworthy for that area.
What an ignorant comment. A sit-on-top style kayak costing under $300 is not a seaworthy boat for the conditions in that area.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more it seems clear that if a property owner supplies such a boat which is clearly inadequate for paddling in that environment, a renters death by hypothermia is a very foreseeable outcome. Make a poorly informed decision, get blown away from shore, get separated from your paddle, get cold, the end.
I am so very sorry that the Hogan’s story never got to play out and that it ended to soon in such a tragedy. I myself have never been in a kayak, if I go out in one and I die, that is MY responsibility. Definitely a sad situation all the way around. The bride lost her groom and the poor cabin owner was put through alot as well.
So sorry to Mrs. Hogan for her loss – but like so many have already said (and I am sure more will say) – how about some personal responsibility? The lawyer contends that if the kayak had not been available Mr. Hogan would not have used it… seriously? This was in no way any fault of the property owners… and I am glad a ruling has come back saying as much. Now this is what we call a “tragic accident” NOT some one drinking and diving with out wearing a seat belt…. that is what we call a preventable accident.
I wonder if the lawyer actually said that with a straight face, I mean good for him for trying to make a winning case, but I would of been to ashamed to stand in front of anyone and make that statement. I am sure he has made everyone so proud. not…
Kayaks, seems a few years ago, every car had one on top, you do not see many now, they are gathering dust, like they should be, a canoe is not much better, these watercrafts are great for a ponds or streams, but ocean, no, the ocean is very unforgiving, not for a kayak of this make. It was not the camp owners fault, really, nor was the groom a fool, he was just fooled into feeling like paddling out there and not understanding the lack of forgiveness the ocean has. It is a sad story, similar to the fellow who had too
much to drink in the Old Port a few weeks ago, tragic, but makes you understand how some minor misjudgement of a situation can be deadly.
“kayaks…. gathering dust like they should be….”
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i have a kayak, my neighbor to the left of my has a kayak, the neighbor to the right of me has 3, we paddle with a group of kayakers regularly.
what the heck are you talking about?
ocean kayaks for oceans, white water kayaks for white water….no different than bicycles that way. (can’t take a bmx on a century ride; can’t take a tri bike on the single track…)
what a tragic loss to bad a little more commen sense hadnt been used it could of save a life
The argument that the cabin owner is somehow liable simply because the kayak was there makes about as much sense as saying somebody is liable for a drunk driving accident because drinking is legal. You can the thank the trial lawyers (like John Edwards) for these out-of-control lawsuits.
I am sorry for the loss of this man’s life. It was a very tragic loss. However, I am so relieved that the cabin owner has been released of responsibility. I’m sure there were kitchen knives available at the rental property as well. Had he used one of those and stabbed himself, would his family file a wrongful death suit again the owner because “had the knife not been there he wouldn’t have done it?” Give me a break sue-happy people. A little common sense and personal responsibility goes a LONG way. Unfortunately, both are significantly lacked in society today.
“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers”. – (Act IV, Scene II).
I am not certain but I believe the real quotation is; “. . .if you want anarchy, first kill all the lawyers. . .”
This country has begun to disgust me…When will everyone stop suing everyone else just because they are incapable of dealing with or cleaning up their own problems?
the system worked, how is that disgusting?
You obviously can’t read.
There’s no shortage of shoddy lawyers willing to file frivolous lawsuits on behalf of stupid people.
Finally! What a relief! I thought I’d never hear the verdict on this
one. Was it Judge Nancy Torreson who handled the entire case? If so, thank you!
You are one of the few Judges out there with common sense!
Exactly. If I don’t know how to properly use something, I leave it alone or ask someone who does to show me how. If I take something upon myself and get hurt, I blame myself, no one else. While I feel for the bride’s loss of her husband, no one is to blame but the person on the kayak.