Westford v. FV ST. TERESA, ON 623983

Filing 8

JDR ORDER Plaintiff to file Amended Verified Complaint forthwith. (JAM, Chambers Staff)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA

TRAVIS J. WESTFORD,
Plaintiff,
Case No. 3:11-cv-00116-JWS-JDR

vs.
F/V ST. TERESA, Official Number
623983her Tackle, Gear,
Appurtenances, Apparel, Equipment,
Permits, Liscenses, Fishing Rights,
Etc.,In Rem,

ORDER REGARDING
SUFFICIENCY OF COMPLAINT
Docket 1

Defendant.

The Plaintiff filed his Verified Complaint In Rem for Personal Injuries,
Maintenance and Cure and Unseaworthiness at Docket 1. Therein, Plaintiff claims
he suffered injury due to the unseaworhtiness of the Vessel St. Teresa. He does
not, however, provide any more than a conclusory statement to support his
allegation.1

1

Verified Complaint, Docket 1, p. 2 (“While in the scope of employment
aboard the defendant vessel, and as a result of unseaworthiness of defendant
vessel, the plaintiff suffered a serious injury to his left arm, hand and fingers, and

Plaintiff has requested the Court issue a Warrant for the Arrest of the
Defendant Vessel. Prior to the arrest of a vessel, the complaining party must make
a prima facie showing of negligence or unseaworthiness. In Ashcroft v. Iqbal, the
Supreme Court held that “[a] pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a
formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ Nor does a
complaint suffice if it tenders ‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual
enhancement.’”2 The Plaintiff here must give the court more than conclusory
statements regarding the causation of his injury.
The Plaintiff is ordered to file forthwith an amended Verified Complaint
alleging with more specificity, and in compliance with Iqbal, the negligence and/or
unseaworthiness that allegedly caused his injury. The Court will not issue the
requested Arrest Warrant until the allegations in the Complaint are sufficient to
satisfy the cited case precedent.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED this

10th

day of August, 2011, at Anchorage, Alaska.

/s/ John D. Roberts
JOHN D. ROBERTS
United States Magistrate Judge

other injuries as may be proven at trial, when on or around June 22, 2008, he
suffered a partially severed finger.”).
2

129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009) (citations omitted).

11-cv-116-JWS-JDR FV St TERESA @1 Order Re Amending Verified Complaint_mtd.wpd

2