10/19/12 - State lawyers are urging New York's top court to throw out the liability lawsuit against the inspectors who continually re-certified a tour boat for 48-passenger capacity before it overturned on an Adirondack lake in 2005, killing 20 passengers including two from Livingston County. The 40-foot Ethan Allen tour boat carried 47 passengers and the captain when it suddenly tipped over in clear, sunny weather, sending all aboard into the lake. Among those who died in the incident were 67 year old Hamburg Township resident Stephanie Przybylski and 68 year old Ruth Renkiewicz of Whitmore Lake. Federal investigators afterward said the 40-foot Ethan Allen should have been limited to 14 passengers. Deputy Solicitor General Andrew Bing told the Court of Appeals the inspectors are not the primary wrongdoers, but simply involved in regulatory enforcement. Attorney James Hacker, representing the victims, said the inspectors were negligent. The Court of Appeals is expected to rule before the end of the year. If Hacker wins, the case will go back to the Court of Claims where it originated. Shoreline Cruises, which owned the Ethan Allen and the boat's captain, Richard Paris, previously pleaded guilty to misdemeanor counts of violating navigation law. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded "insufficient stability" was probable accident cause, partly from the passenger load. (JK)
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