I am in the middle of a dispute with a boat carpenter regarding the construction of a custom sailing yacht. He has far exceeded the promised delivery date, and he has increased the cost of the project without my approval. I...
David Weil has been the proud author of the “Ask a Maritime Attorney” column in The Southern California Log Newspaper and Sea Magazine since 2006, with over 300 installments of the column. We have provided links in this section to those articles, covering a wide range of topics of interest to the California maritime and boating communities.
Does My Marine Insurance Policy Cover Earthquake Damage?
June 24, 2009
I just renewed my homeowner’s insurance policy and it reminded me that I have never seen an earthquake insurance policy offered for a boat. I know that homeowners have to take out separate earthquake policies through the...
I made an offer on a boat and am trying to locate a qualified marine surveyor in connection with the purchase. My yacht broker gave me a list of three surveyors, but none of them are available to inspect the boat before the...
We are in the process of buying a new boat from a dealer, but we just learned that he filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy several days before we finalized the purchase agreement. Now his office is closed and he won’t return our...
Can Liens Go Unpaid When a Boat is ‘Arrested?’
May 11, 2009
I own a dive service and I have a lien against a boat that has been arrested by a bank. I don’t know anything about a vessel arrest, but I have recorded liens with the Coast Guard on other boats and I made sure to get this...