This maritime case stems from a collision between two vessels in the Fort Myers Yacht Basin during Hurricane Ian. The vessel Madame Musique became loose from its mooring and struck Knot Speed, which was secured to the adjacent dock. Madam Musique’s owner—Petitioner Randal Toca—sought “exoneration from liability” under the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act.
Knot Speed’s owner Ted Hobson retained George M. Zeitler, a retired Coast Guardsman who spent most of his service conducting “commercial vessel safety inspections and casualty investigations.”
Zeitler inspected Knot Speed, the Yacht Basin, and reviewed the documentary evidence. He concluded that Madame Musique “was not adequately moored,” and as a result, it broke free from the dock, drifted across the yacht basin, and hit Knot Speed. According to him, the force of the collision, “combined with the prevailing winds and storm surge,” pressed Madame Musique against Knot Speed and caused it to “heel over” atop “multiple wood pilings,” which “penetrated [its] hull” and ultimately caused it to sink.
Toca filed a motion to exclude Zeitler’s testimony. Toca contended that Zeitler’s opinions are unreliable because he failed to interview “a single eyewitness to the events in question.”
Maritime Expert Witness
George M. Zeitler is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. He spent twenty years in the service, primarily conducting the kinds of inspections and investigations performed here. He also spent a year “overseeing the pre-storm preparations for vessels in multiple South Florida ports.”
Upon completing his service, Zeitler continued performing inspections and investigations as a consultant and started teaching courses on related subjects at the Chapman School of Seamanship.
Discussion by the Court
Toca contended that Zeitler’s opinions “lacked a sufficient factual foundation,” rendering them unreliable, since they were formed “without interviewing any individuals who were actually present when the damage to the Knot Speed occurred.”
It is not clear to the Court that the alleged information gap exists, as Zeitler reviewed—and considered—the summaries of the opposing expert’s interviews with the relevant witnesses.
While Zeitler perhaps should have interviewed the witnesses, the Court found that his failure to do so did not warrant excluding his testimony in this case.
Held
The Court denied Toca’s Daubert motion in limine to exclude the testimony of George M. Zeitler.
Key Takeaway:
Toca needed to show that Zeitler’s opinions lacked sufficient factual foundation. He has not done so. What evidence an expert did, or did not, consider generally affects the weight of their testimony, not its admissibility.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Toca V. Debonair Properties LLC |
| Docket Number: | 2:23cv303 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, Florida Middle |
| Order Date: | July 28, 2025 |
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