Production company sued after allegedly damaging yacht

NEW ORLEANS– The owners of a yacht claim that the damages to the vessel were caused by violations of their charter agreement.

The Confidential Lady LLC filed suit against Safady Entertainment LLC, Joseph Tufaro, The Culling LLC and The Culling Productions LLC in the Orleans Parish Civil District Court on Jan. 4. The plaintiff and defendants entered into a charter agreement wheeby agents of Safady Entertainment would receive delivery of the vessel The Confidential Lady on April 1, 2012 and return it on April 12, 2012. The vessel was inspected by Joseph Tufaro and furnished with additional updated accessories to insure seaworthiness. After the voyage began, the plaintiff received reports of engine overheating that was later revealed to be caused by an influx of debris into the seawater pumps causing damage to the engine. The suit alleges that this damage was caused by negligent operation of the vessel while it was under the custody of Safady Entertainment.

Additionally, a series of substantial geographic deviations were made from the route originally agreed upon in the vessel charter agreement without the plaintiff's consent. The agreement provided that the cruising area would be round trip from New Orleans to Key West and would be exclusive to US waters. The defendants allegedly deviated fro the geographic limitations of the agreement and in the course thereof sunk the 16.5 ft. Zodiac accompanying the The Confidential Lady in international waters. As a result of the actions of the defendants the The Confidential Lady has been undergoing repairs in Florida since May 5, 2012.

The defendant is accused of breach of contract for the damages to the yacht.

An unspecified amount of damages is sought for all reasonable repair expenses necessary for The Confidential Lady, the full cost of replacing the 16.5 ft. Zodiac lost in international waters, past and present dockage expenses, economic losses related to lost charter arrangements and for delay damages as set forth by the charter agreement.

The case has been assigned to Division N Judge Ethel S. Julien.

The plaintiff is represented by Frank D’Amico Jr. of the Law Offices of Frank D'Amico Jr.

Case No. 2013-00103.