Builder files lawsuit against Gunboat

Published on October 2nd, 2015

Taiwan-based Hudson Yacht and Marine Industries blamed design flaws in Gunboat International’s models, not builder error, for problems that resulted in warranty claim disputes and eventually in Gunboat filing a lawsuit against HYM.

In addition to a breach-of-contract counterclaim, HYM filed a defamation counterclaim, saying Gunboat made a Facebook post and sent an email newsletter criticizing the skills and staff turnover at HYM, “indicating that only boats built in the United States or Europe can meet a certain standard of quality.”

Gunboat, a North Carolina builder of luxury carbon fiber sailing catamarans that had contracted HYM to construct some of its larger models in Taiwan, sued the company in Rhode Island’s U.S. District Court after alleging that HYM had built subpar boats and then refused to fix the problems.

HYM denied the allegations and filed a counterclaim that said HYM was not contractually liable for damages resulting from defective design.