$900,000 Settlement OKd in Sinking of Fishing Boat

Two people who survived the sinking of a sportfishing boat off the Baja California coast last year and the families of seven who died have agreed to split about $900,000 to settle their legal claims, lawyers said Thursday.

The largest share, about $200,000, will go to Cathy Compton, who was second officer and cook on the Fish-n-Fool, a 57-foot boat that capsized Feb. 5, 1987, when it was hit by a rogue wave about 150 miles southeast of San Diego.

Ten of the 12 people aboard, including the skipper, Gary LaMont, died.

The total awards should have totaled $5 million or $6 million, but LaMont carried only $1 million worth of insurance, according to Herb Resner, a San Francisco lawyer who represented Compton in the settlement negotiations.

“Everybody had to give up something to make it work,” Resner said. “There was a small pot to divide in a very big, tragic accident.”

LaMont’s family did not make a claim and will not receive a share of the money, Resner said.

Both the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board concluded last year that LaMont’s negligence led to the sinking. Both agencies said LaMont had steered the boat dangerously close to a charted navigational hazard called Ben’s Rock, where the boat was hit by a 20-foot wave.

The other survivor, Jim Sims, a passenger, will receive an undisclosed amount of money, lawyers said.

The settlements range from $20,000 to $200,000, according to David Van Til, an attorney who represented the estate of Scott Milliron, a crew member who died in the accident. Milliron’s mother will receive an undisclosed share, Van Til said.

Compton received the largest share because she suffered emotional trauma and back injuries for which she is still being treated, and because the insurance policy earmarked half of the $1 million for crew members, Resner said.

Compton was entitled to substantially more than $200,000, but agreed to the lower amount so that more money would be available for the families of others, some of whom left wives and children. More than $100,000 of the insurance money was spent on expenses of defending against the multiple lawsuits, Resner said.

H & M Landing, a Point Loma dock from which Fish-n-Fool operated as a charter boat, agreed to pay $110,000, according to its lawyer, David Brennan. H & M admitted no liability, but decided to contribute to the settlement rather than spend almost as much defending itself at a trial, Brennan said.