Dali Civil Trial to Begin June 1 After Judge Denies Motion to Delay
The civil liabilities case against the owners and operators of the containership Dali will commence on June 1, as scheduled, a U.S. District Court Judge ruled on Wednesday. The companies had filed a motion calling for staying the trial based on the recent criminal indictments or at least delaying it for 90 days while they resolved issues related to potential witnesses.
Judge James Bredar, who is presiding over the civil litigation and will hear the case as a bench trial (i.e., without a jury), held a hearing on May 20 to review the petition to delay filed by Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine. The companies argued the U.S. Department of Justice had delayed unsealing the criminal indictment against Synergy Marine and one of its employees to less than a month before the start of the civil trial. They also asserted that a dozen employees and crewmembers of the Dali were refusing to come to the United States to appear as witnesses due to a fear that they would be detained and that they might also not testify via video.
The crewmembers and shoreside supervisors invoked their right against self-incrimination during the pre-trial discovery phase. One person had refused to come to the United States and had their deposition taken in London. The companies said they were working with lawyers in an attempt to resolve the issue, possibly having some of the individuals appear through video testimonies, but this required additional time. They also asserted proceeding with the civil trial could harm its defense in the criminal trial
Supporting the call for a delay, the federal government was present and argued that the criminal trial should be held first. They acknowledged that it could be a year or more until the criminal trial proceeded, but asserted the federal government could compel the individuals to testify and has additional tools at its disposal not available during a civil trial.
“The right course, the best course, the most fair course, is to stay the course,” Judge Bredar told the court. He ruled the civil case was ready and that the petitioners had failed to show they would suffer significant harm if the case proceeded as scheduled on June 1.
The City and County of Baltimore, joined by lead counsel for private economic loss claimants, had filed their opposition to the move to delay the trial by Grace Ocean and Synergy. They noted that the companies had initiated this action shortly after the containership hit the bridge in 2024, seeking the limitation of liabilities even before the claims were filed. They argued that “it has been apparent that a federal indictment was a near certainty,” since the Dali destroyed the Key Bridge.
In their opposition motion, the lawyers also argued the companies “seek to use the unsealing of the indictments as an opportunity to convert the Limitation shield into a sword.”
The judge agreed that extensive time has been invested to this point and that the discovery phase has been completed to prepare for trial. In the interest of judicial efficency he said the trial should proceed as scheduled. He said the companies had failed to prove that the issues around the witnesses, or new witnesses, would be available if the trial was delayed. He also denied claims that there would be harm to the criminal case if the civil case proceeded and found that the continuing delay is a hardship to the families and others who have filed claims.
In the first phase of the civil case, Judge Bredar is set to decide on the issue of limiting liabilities. The second phase would directly address the claims from five family members of the road workers killed when the bridge collapsed, as well as the City and County of Baltimore’s claims and those filed by businesses and others claiming economic loss from the port having been closed and the loss of the vital roadway.
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During the hearing, it was revealed that a sixth family has reached a settlement over its wrongful death claim against the companies. Previously, the State of Maryland also announced that it had settled its claims for a record $2.25 billion with Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine.
The U.S. Federal Government indicted two Synergy Marine companies and one individual employed by the companies as a port supervisor on criminal charges related to the destruction of the bridge and charges of lying during the investigation.
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