Black Duck
Sr. Member
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- #21
The State really has nothing to with this issue other than they collaborated with France with out GME's knowledge to cause a tortious interference on Four of the Five shipwrecks discovered by GME.They didn't, there is no proof of this do to the fact there is no proof. And no one has proven that nor has it been ruled on.
Disputed Facts
A. La Trinité was not a Sunken Military Craft as defined
in the SMCA.
La TrinitĂ© was a civilian Huguenot re-supply vessel dispatched to the Fort Caroline Huguenot outpost at the present-day St. Johnâs River near Jacksonville. Doc. 64, Verified Statement of Dr. Robert H. Baer. âShe was not any military ship, TrinitĂ© was a cargo ship, bringing supplies, civilians and money to the new French Colony.â Doc. 65, Verified Statement of Dr. Lubos Kordac. This position is universally accepted by academics and Huguenot historians as well as contemporary
historians of the French colonial period. Doc. 64, Verified Statement of Robert H. Baer. Use of the term ânaval expeditionâ does not mean that Ribaultâs colony resupply mission was actually a Navy warship in battle. The term ânaval expeditionâ is often used by historians when referring to âwaterborneâ or âcargoâ vessels. Doc. 64. At the time La TrinitĂ© sailed in 1565, France hadnât yet organized a military navy, which happened in 1624. Doc 64, p. 1. At the time of Ribaultâs resupply mission, France and Spain were not at war. Doc. 65, p. 1.
The SMCA prohibits the rescue or recovery of a sunken military craft. The Act defines âmilitary craftâ as âany sunken warshipâŠowned or operated by a government on military noncommercial service when it sankâŠâ Id. at § 1408(3)(A). France asserts that La TrinitĂ© was a warship sunk in military battle. Neither the Admiralty Court in GME I nor the Eleventh Circuit declared La TrinitĂ© a warship on military noncommercial war mission when it sank. See GME I; Glob. Marine Expl., Inc. v. Republic of Fr., 33 F.4th 1312, 1324-25 (11th Cir. 2022). The Admiralty Court resolved GME I on a single factual determination: whether the ship artifacts were that of La TrinitĂ©. Upon determination that the res was French, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (âFSIAâ) foreclosed subject matter jurisdiction absent statutory exception. GME I. Beyond finding the res to be La TrinitĂ©, the decision is dicta and has no precedential effect. See, e.g., Fresh Results, Ltd. Liab. Co. v. ASF Holland, B.V., 921 F.3d 1043, 1049 (11th Cir. 2019)
(dicta is those portions of an opinion not necessary to decide the case and has no precedential value). âRegardless of what a court says in its opinion, the decision can hold nothing beyond the facts of that case.â Id. (citing Edwards v. Prime, Inc., 602 F.3d 1276, 1298 (11th Cir. 2010)).
Likewise, the Eleventh Circuitâs decision was limited to a determination whether French commercial activities fell within an exception to FSIA. In assessing Franceâs present-day actions, the Eleventh Circuit was required to analyze Franceâs present-day activities and determine if they were commercial in nature. Glob. Marine Expl., Inc. v. Republic of Fr., 33 F.4th 1312 (11th Cir. 2022). The Courtâs depiction of Ribaultâs acts in 1656 were not relevant to its analysis and adjudication of Franceâs present-day commercial activity and have no binding effect here. See Fresh Results, 921 F.3d at 1049.
France points to no factual record evidence to support its position that La TrinitĂ© falls within the definition of a military craft. Notably, it files this motion before discovery has even occurred. The only record evidence related La TrinitĂ© in these proceedings is presented by GME and that evidence refutes Franceâs claims. Given that GME presents record evidence contrary to what France contends, summary judgment must be denied.
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