Pedro P. Pinaula, then-50-years-old, was nearly killed when he was ran over by a boat while fishing in the waters off Micro Beach in 2007.
Pinaula and common-law wife Linda Cruz Pangelinan sued Banga Bandhu Baidya, the boat operator, and Baidya’s employer, Seahorse Inc. Saipan.
The defendants have moved for summary judgment, claiming that “[Pinaula and Pangelinan] cannot prove a case of negligence before a reasonable fact finder.”
Joseph Horey, who is representing the plaintiffs, said the defendants’ motion for summary judgment “should be denied, because genuine issues of material fact exist as to whether the boat operator breached his duty of reasonable care to swimmers in the water, such as Pedro.”
Pinaula said in his written declaration: “In my lifetime of swimming and fishing around Saipan, I have often had occasion to see other people swimming and fishing as well. In my observation, it is nearly universal practice for spear fishermen on Saipan to use…coolers…. The cooler serves two purposes — to collect fish and to make the fisherman clearly visible in the water. When you see such a cooler, it is a clear sign that a fisherman is present in the water. A cooler is visible for hundreds of yards. A fisherman swimming with a cooler in the area near the cement shipwreck can be seen even from the shore.”
Furthermore, his lawyer added, “even if the ‘popping up’ scenario that defendants described actually occurred, it still would not absolve Mr. Baidya of his own negligence, and would not justify a summary judgment in his favor.”
Horey said the defendants were in “breach of their duty under the Boating Safety Regulations to stay reasonably clear of any swimmer.”
Pinaula said he had been fishing for 25 years and it was the first time that he encountered an incident that endangered his life.
Although he did not sustain injury, Pinaula claimed he has been suffering trauma and mental distress since the accident.
He said his earning decreased and “his fishing enthusiasm has changed because [I] got scared already.”
Pinaula was fishing on Aug. 25, 2007 in the beach area near the Fiesta Resort in Garapan when a boat operated by Baidya struck the rope connecting the fisherman to his cooler.
