United States v. Rafael

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

DEIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is an admiralty case in which the plaintiff, United States of America, seeks to recover costs that it incurred in the removal of a sunken fishing boat owned by the defendant, Carlos Rafael (“Rafael”), from the Herman Melville Shipyard in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The Herman Melville Shipyard is part of New Bed-ford Harbor, which, at all relevant times, was a designated Superfund cleanup site. The matter is before this court on the “United States’ Motion for…