The Civil Case Committee has released a teaser for the soon-to-be-released case of Allen v. Neptune Underwater Expeditions: The brochure for the dive trip on which Lee Allen died!
http://www.collegemocktrial.org/Broc...%20upload).pdf
The Civil Case Committee has released a teaser for the soon-to-be-released case of Allen v. Neptune Underwater Expeditions: The brochure for the dive trip on which Lee Allen died!
http://www.collegemocktrial.org/Broc...%20upload).pdf
greatest piece of evidence ever
So many possibilities:
• Did Lee lie about certification?
• Were they not following the "buddy system"?
• Was Lee not prepared, but in order to avoid a refund, Neptune allowed him to dive anyway?
• Was there alcohol involved?
And then, of course, there's all the great references to the Bennett murder case.
Can't wait to dive into this case!
Last edited by captainbowtie; 08-03-2012 at 04:53 PM. Reason: Being punny
Ray Barr (the Amazing)
Drake Mock Trial
"Bow ties are cool."
I'm very impressed by the details thus far. The Neptune Diving logo looks awesome. I hope this is a promising sign of a great case.
I like the foreshadowing on the back of the brochure. If I ever were to go on a dive and I read this statement, superstition would have me find another company to dive with:
"Because we put safety first: every single customer who's gone down has come back up."
After looking at the dates, looks like Lee went down on the Thursday dive. And with a $10,000 price tag, I'm betting he was probably sick or something (but also maybe the instructor was a little tipsy?) but dove anyway. Hoping for a great case!
Heh heh heh. I see what you did there.Originally Posted by captainbowtie
The last 3 dives are at depths way beyond acceptable levels for recreational divers with an advanced open water certification (max recommended depth for divers at that level is 130ft, these dives are 170-190).
I'm so nervous. So rusty on my civil cases
You think you know, but you have no idea!
I think the most likely defense theory will be that the divers discovered Grace and Owens living underwater aboard the boat and they strangled Lee Allen.
Andrew Chesley
Dickinson College
Perfect teaser. And at long last, after 3 years, we finally have a resolution to the Owens case! I always knew that Alex Grace was the real killer.
This. Which is why it's explicitly designated as a "technical" dive, while the others are "recreational." Seems like a major point of contention will be whether someone with an "advanced open water certification" is typically prepared for a technical dive at that depth. Since they make a big point of saying that they're "the only company in the world" that does stuff like this, the answer is probably no.
The requirement to "follow all directions" is likely another one (i.e. whether or not the victim heard such-and-such directions, whether he strayed from the pack, etc.)
From a purely subjective, personal standpoint, I have zero sympathy for anyone who dies on something like this, unless something went catastrophically wrong that was completely unpredictable (e.g. tank ran out of air, eaten by a shark, whatever). You're agreeing to a hell of a lot of risk to scuba dive a shipwreck. Neptune must've had some pretty crappy lawyers who drew up a pretty crappy waiver.
Also, can we all agree to keep the bad Australian accents to a minimum? I really don't feel like crossing a thousand wannabe Steve Irwin/surfer dude Reggie Rodgers wearing puka shells on top of their dress shirts.
Fun teaser, fun case.
Last edited by Den E. Crane; 08-05-2012 at 01:50 PM.
"My record is 6,043 to 0 . . . Never lost. Never will."
Riiiiiiiiiight.
Alex Grace and Jackie Owens are merlings.
Love the fact that there's bits and pieces from the Owens case!That was the first case I did, and it almost feels as if this is going to provide closure when I graduate in May.
Also, I was bringing up the case around some of my fellow RAs last night during our free time from training, and she said this one's based off a real case. I guess recently something similar to this happened.
Last edited by SayAnything; 08-09-2012 at 11:22 AM.
Outrageous fun.
It's out
Ray Barr (the Amazing)
Drake Mock Trial
"Bow ties are cool."
Witnesses include spouse, (π) coast guard investigator, (π) another customer, a π diving expert, a π medical expert, a company deckhand, the owner of Neptune, a ∆ medical expert, a ∆ oceanographer, and ∆ Neptune dive leader.
Call order is PPPDDD
Casey French now works for NDC
Death had to have been caused by recklessness of NDC
Gilbertson v. Everest Experience is one of the case law cases
As is a 2012 case Hopson v. Dawson
Among other things, π lied or failed to tell ∆ about: number of dives they'd performed, whether or not they went on a wreck dive, and about π's hypertension, though NDC never even asked about hypertension or similar conditions
Allen claims the instructors didn't actually instruct, just lead the dives
Some members of the crew (though maybe not the dive instructors) were drinking the night before the dive (according to another customer)
Allen asked to go further down on her own while the dive instructor's back was turned. Then instructor may or may not have seen the request, but replied with a "go ahead" before returning to what they were working on
A NDC employee knew Lee didn't meet the dive requirements, but didn't do anything about it
According to a NDC employee, the NDC owner said that since Allen's had paid 20,000, they were going into the water, despite concerns about experience
NDC checked forecast at 10 PM the night before, indicating okay weather, however, a later forecast (which was not seen) would have indicated a storm during the dive time period
NDC may have screwed up in preparing Lee's equipment for the dive
Owner claims to have asked about health conditions and have been told that Lee had none
According to the divemaster, after Lee separated from the group, the divemaster went back to find him, found him, and attempted to take him to the anchor line. There the dive master saw Lee was running low on oxygen and didn't a backup tank. When divemaster offered his backup tank to Lee, Lee began attacking him with a knife, ultimately making divemaster let go of Lee and the dive master's backup tank, and assending without Lee
π expert diving witness is not being paid. Is testifying because of history of concern about NDC safety... also, he's the CEO of one of NDC's major competitors
In summary, the they were interested in the dive, contacted NDC, overstated their qualifications and had no medical examination prior to being accepted for the dive. Lee experienced, but denied, problems throughout the dives leading up to the main dive on July 7th. The forecast for that dive, when checked by NDC indicated clear weather, however, a later forecast would have revealed weather severe enough to cancel the dive. That day, Andy was ill and unable to serve as Lee's dive partner, however Lee insisted on diving or a refund. Lee was paired with the divemaster, and they descended. Once at the wreck, another customer became entangled. The dive master assisted that customer, while Lee went ahead. Lee ended up in an area other than the intended path, and it was only realized she was missing when the rest of the divers reassembled at the anchor line. The divemaster returned to find Lee, found her, and took her to the anchor line. There, he tried to assist Lee with nitrox however Lee resisted, ultimately leading the divemaster to ascend without Lee.
Last edited by captainbowtie; 08-13-2012 at 11:42 AM. Reason: Not having a million posts
Ray Barr (the Amazing)
Drake Mock Trial
"Bow ties are cool."
I enjoy the Hopson v Dawson case law coming from the inevitable civil suit from last year's case.
Sounds like a pretty good case. Hopefully my school gets access to it soon.
At least, bowtie makes it sound pretty fair overall.
My only question is why was Lee attacking the divemaster with a knife............
They got to the anchor line and Reggie checked Lee's nitrox. Because Lee was experiencing narcosis, he was still relaxed. Reggie tried communicating with Lee, but the conditions made that impossible. Reggie therefore reached behind Lee to get him his backup cylinder, however, it wasn't there. Lee started freaking out at Reggie touching Lee's equipment. Reggie offered Lee his own backup cylinder, and at that point Lee pulled his diving knife, causing Reggie to let go of the cylinder and of Lee.
Ray Barr (the Amazing)
Drake Mock Trial
"Bow ties are cool."
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