Tasi Tours seeks judgment vs tour agency for tourist’s drowning

Tasi Tours & Transportation wants the federal court’s clerk of court to enter a default judgment against a tour agency that brought to Managaha Island female Chinese tourist Wang Dao, who drowned while snorkeling off the island in 2012.

Tasi Tours, through counsel Rexford C. Kosack, asked the U.S. District Court for the NMI’s clerk of court to declare Man Bao Corp., owner of Win Tour, in default for allegedly failing to answer or respond to its crossclaim.

Kosack said Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 55(a) states that “when a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise, the clerk must enter the party’s default.”

Tasi Tours filed the crossclaim against Win Tour on April 27, 2015. Kosack said the crossclaim was served on Win Tour’s lawyer on April 27, 2015. He said Win Tour had 21 days from the date of service to answer the counterclaim.

Kosack said the record shows that Win Tour failed to answer or otherwise respond to the counterclaim. As the time to do so has long expired, he said the default of Win Tour “must” be entered.

In Tasi Tours’ counterclaim, Kosack asserted that although Tasi Tours denies any liability to Wang Dao’s father, Xiao Ting Wang, Tasi may be compelled to pay a judgment in favor of Xiao Wang.

The father is the personal representative of Wang Dao.

Kosack said any such judgment should be paid in whole or in part by Win Tour.

Kosack said Win Tour sold Dao a tour to Managaha and thus, she was a customer of that company.

Win Tour transported Dao to Managaha and rented her a snorkel and mask. Kosack said Win Tour instructed Dao as to the area in the water where to snorkel. He said Win Tour had a duty to Dao in instruct her in the use of a snorkel and mask, but the tour agency did not do this.

Xiao Wang, as personal representative of his daughter, Dao, is suing Tasi Tours and Win Tour. Xiao Wang, through counsel William Fitzgerald, asked the court to hold the defendants liable to pay him unspecified damages.

In Tasi Tours’ crossclaim, Kosack said in the event the plaintiff’s allegations are proven true, Dao’s death was the direct and proximate result of Win Tour’s breach of one or more of its duties.

Aside from its crossclaim, Tasi Tours also filed its answer and affirmative defenses to Wang’s lawsuit.

In Tasi Tours’ defenses, Kosack said Wang is barred from any recovery from Tasi Tours, in that any injury of Dao, the death of Dao, and the damages, if any, sustained were the direct and proximate result of Dao’s own conduct, or the conduct of persons other than Tasi.

Judge Ramona V. Manglona had already ruled that Tasi Tours owed a duty of reasonable care to Dao.

“Whether deploying lifeguards to watch the area in which Dao drowned would have been reasonable…is a jury question,” said Manglona in denying Tasi Tours’ motion to dismiss Wang’s lawsuit.