A rogue lawyer for the builder behind the doomed Bayesian superyacht — on which tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others died — sued Lynch’s widow for nearly $250 million, claiming the accident caused the shipbuilder massive “reputational damage.”
Filed Friday in Palermo by lawyer Tommaso Bertuccelli on behalf of The Italian Sea Group, the lawsuit said liability for the sunken vessel lay squarely with Lynch’s widow and the boat crew, according to Fortune.
And it said TISG had lost significant business because of the disaster, such as a well-known fashion company that canceled plans to hold a brand launch on one of the company’s yachts, the outlet said.
But in a bizarre twist, the sea group immediately distanced itself from the suit, claiming it didn’t authorize the filing and wants Bertuccelli to pull the claim, Fortune said.
“The Italian Sea Group … strongly denies the claims published in [Italian newspaper] La Nazione regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy,” a spokesperson said.
“Although TISG has given a generic mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed or authorized any writ of summons.”
Lynch, a British billionaire, died in the early morning hours of Aug. 19 when a powerful squall struck the $40 million, TISG-built yacht off the coast of Sicily, sparking tornado-like waterspouts that inundated the craft.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah, also died, as did the ship’s chef, Ricardo Thomas; New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda; and Morgan Stanley executive Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy.
Angela Bacares, Lynch’s wife and Hannah’s mother, was one of 15 people who escaped the 184-foot luxury yacht.
The voyage had been a celebration of sorts for Lynch, who’d just been acquitted on criminal fraud charges in the US.
The exact cause of the boat’s destruction remains unknown, however.
Italian prosecutors are probing whether the actions of Captain James Cutfield, 51, may have led to tragedy, since ship captains are responsible for the safety of the vessel, its crew and its passengers, according to maritime law.
Cutfield was reportedly named in the lawsuit, as were two other crewmembers; Camper & Nicholsons, the company that hired the crew; and Revtom, the company that owned the Bayesian and which is controlled by Lynch’s widow, Bacares.
But a TISG representative told Fortune that the company won’t pursue the crew or Lynch’s widow for damages.
Still, the shipbuilder has been trying to control a mushrooming PR nightmare ever since the vessel sinking.
Giovanni Costantino, the company’s CEO, had called the yacht “unsinkable,” and said human error must have led to the disaster.
“The first thought when I read the news of the sinking was that there was a problem related to the management of the boat or the fact that the hull may have hit a rock,” Costantino told the Guardian.
“But when the passengers declared they had not heard a loud noise onboard, which would have meant that the yacht had struck a reef, I realized the yacht had taken on water due to a hatch that was left open. Otherwise the Bayesian cannot sink.”
Prosecutors have said the boat was likely hit by a “downburst,” or a very strong downward wind.
But naval experts remain confounded by the yacht’s sinking — it should have withstood the storm, and shouldn’t have sunk as quickly as it did.
The extravagant ship won best interior at the International Superyacht Society Awards in 2008 and was also voted one of the best large sailing yachts at the 2009 World Superyacht Awards, according to the Telegraph.
An unnamed friend of the family told the Times that the TISG “should be ashamed” of the suit.
“Giovanni Costantino is a disgrace, desperately trying to shift blame,” the friend said.
“He rushed to the media before all the bodies had even been recovered, showing his lack of decency. Now, it seems, he wants to sue his own clients.”
