Ralston Purina Co. v. M/V Louise V
Ralston Purina Co. v. M/V Louise V
Opinion of the Court
Intervenor, the president and sole stockholder of Louise V Inc., asserts that the skiff aboard the Louise V is his personal property and therefore cannot be seined with the chip to satisfy a' judgment against the vessel.
Even if the* court were * satisfie-d that the skiff was Mr. Virissimo's personal property it would not follow that it could not be coined. The Preferred Ship Mortgage purports to cover "any and all additions, improvements, and replacement hereafter made" in or on the ship, specifically including "skiffs. " Mr. Viriscimo had notice* of this provision when he placed the ckiff aboard the Louise V, since he had signed the mortgage in his capacity as president of the corporation.
On July 29, 1985, several weeks after suit was filed, one of Mr. Virissimo's accountants wrote that it had quite recently come to his attention "that two power skiffs paid through Jeanne Lou Inc. in December 1982 and February 1983, and put on board the Capt. A.R. and the Louise V., were to be treated as personal loans to you and not loans to each of these two Nevada Corporations." He pointed out that "the books of the three corporations mentioned previously will have to be adjusted and the Federal Income Tax Returns ... will have to be amended to reflect this fact." Subsequent documents submitted by the intervenor treat the skiff as the property of Mr. Virissimo rather than that of the corporation.
On the witness stand Mr. Virissimo emphasised that he is a simple fisherman who knows little of taxes and lawyers and has a poor memory tor numbers, documents, people, places, and events. He attributed the treatment of the skiff in his records and those of his corporations to the desire of his lawyers and accountants to save him money on taxes, but stressed that they had no authority to deprive him of his property. He admitted signing many of the documents in question, including his own tax returns, but insisted that he had never read any of them.
This line of defense is inadequate. Everyone who turns his affairs over to others intends the
The complaint in intervention is dismissed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.