Facts: The action arose from a serious boating accident where a recreational vessel crashed into a breakwater on a lake while being operated at night. The accident resulted in three fatalities and two serious injuries. The boat’s operator was impaired by alcohol and cannabis. The claimants sued the boat’s operator and owner as well as three government entities who were responsible for owning, maintaining and lighting the breakwater and marina where the accident occurred. The motions judge granted summary judgment dismissing the claim against the government entities and held that the Marine Liability Act limitation of liability for small vessel accidents of $1m did not include any amounts awarded for costs and prejudgment interest.

Decision: The appeals were dismissed. The motions judge did not make any error with respect to the liability of the government entities or in his interpretation of the Marine Liability Act.

Held: The motion judge accepted that the lights on the breakwater, which was owned and maintained by the various government entities involved, were visible at the time of the accident. The judge did not commit any error in determining that the government entities had a duty of care or in the standard of care analysis. The facts as presented supported a finding that the lights were visible and that the accident was solely caused due to negligent navigation. The operator of the vessel was familiar with the area and knew of the presence of the breakwater at the time of the accident, but simply failed to keep a proper lookout while operating too fast and too close to the area. There was no error in the judge’s analysis in accepting the evidence that the cause of the accident was negligent navigation and the lighting did not contribute to the accident.