Beckman v. Rick's Watercraft Rentals

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

On January 4,1993, Beckman severely injured himself when he struck his knee after he lost control of a jet ski in navigable waters off the Florida Keys. On December 27, 1996, he sued Yamaha, the manufacturer of the “vessel,” see Keys Jet Ski, Inc. v. Kays, 893 F.2d 1225 (11th Cir.1990), and those who had rented it to him, alleging that they had respectively negligently designed the watercraft, did not adequately warn of its dangers, and failed properly to instruct him on its operation. The trial court ruled that the action involved a maritime claim therefore governed by…