A tragic boating accident has led to a lawsuit seeking over $1 million in damages. Dylan Vince Conde filed the complaint on August 9, 2024, in Harris County District Court against Connie Soptick, Texas Alliance Group, Inc., Tag Texas Property Holdings, LLC, Robalo Boats, LLC, and Marine Products Corporation.
According to the court documents, the incident occurred on July 5, 2024. Dylan Vince Conde was a passenger in a boat operated by Howard Daniel Franklin. The boat, owned by the defendants collectively referred to as the "Franklin Defendants," crashed into the Galveston North Jetty around 9:30 p.m., resulting in severe injuries to Conde and two other passengers. Tragically, Franklin and another passenger lost their lives in the crash.
The plaintiff alleges that the Franklin Defendants were negligent in several ways: failing to operate the boat according to laws and regulations, operating it while intoxicated, not controlling its speed or keeping a proper lookout, and failing to use proper lighting at night. Additionally, they are accused of negligently entrusting the boat to Franklin despite knowing he was an incompetent and reckless driver. This negligence is claimed to be a proximate cause of the accident and subsequent injuries.
Conde also targets Robalo Boats and Marine Products Corporation (collectively known as "Robalo Defendants") for strict liability due to alleged defects in design, manufacturing, and marketing of the boat. The lawsuit asserts that these defects made the boat unreasonably dangerous for its intended use. Specifically, it lacked adequate collision avoidance systems which could have prevented or reduced the severity of the crash. Furthermore, it claims that Robalo Defendants failed to provide sufficient warnings about these dangers.
The plaintiff seeks various forms of relief including compensation for past and future medical expenses, physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, bodily impairment and disability, lost wages and earning capacity, disfigurement and scarring. Additionally sought are punitive/exemplary damages for gross negligence attributed to both sets of defendants—alleging they acted with conscious indifference towards safety risks.
Representing Dylan Vince Conde are attorneys Muhammad S. Aziz from Abraham Watkins Nichols Agosto Aziz & Stogner law firm along with Shane R. Pellerin from Shane Pellerin Law Firm P.C.. The case is being overseen by Judge Berita Barrett under Case ID 2024-51353 in Harris County's 129th Judicial District Court.