Procedural Posture. In June 2003, Otal Investments Ltd., the owner of the Kariba, filed a complaint for exoneration or limitation of liability with respect to claims against it that arose from the collision between the Kariba and the Tricolor. In response to this complaint, numerous claimants filed claims against the Kariba, seeking damages for the loss of their cargo, which had sunk along with the Tricolor (hereinafter, the “Cargo Claimants”). The Kariba impleaded the Xxxxx and the Tricolor as third-party defendants. A trial to determine and apportion liability was held in October 2005, and after post-trial briefs were submitted this Court heard closing arguments on December 12, 2005. On January 4, 2006, this Court issued an Amended Opinion and Order that found the Kariba solely liable for the collision. Otal I, 2006 WL 14512, at *11. The Kariba and the Cargo Claimants appealed the decision, and on July 6, 2007, the Second Circuit found that the Kariba, the Tricolor and the Xxxxx each violated the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (the “COLREGS”), Oct. 20, 1972, 28 U.S.T. 3459, codified by Congress at 33 U.S.C. § 1602, et seq., and found that each vessel committed at least one violation that was causative of the collision. The Circuit remanded the matter to this Court (1) to decide whether the Tricolor’s speed was a proximate cause of the collision, (2) to determine each vessel’s relative culpability, (3) to determine the relative extent to which each vessel caused the collision, and (4) to allocate liability among the three vessels based on their relative culpability and relative causative role. In their briefs on remand, the Tricolor and the Xxxxx assert that their liability to the Cargo Claimants should be limited pursuant to the Limitation of Liability Act. Further, the Tricolor argues that its liability must be limited pursuant to COGSA. The Kariba and the Cargo Claimants settled their disputes with one another before trial in Otal I.
Procedural Posture. 26 On September 14, 2016, Plaintiff, a former employee of Defendant, filed a wage and hour 27 class action Complaint in Santa Xxxxx County Superior Court, alleging causes of action for:
