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Today I was so excited about the upcoming mock trial that I wrote the beginning of a closing for last year's case. They broke their promise, they broke their rules, they broke the law. If Neptune had followed their promise, their rules, or the law, then Andy Allen would have more of his wife left than just this. But, all that’s left of Lee Allen is this picture, and the reason for that is Neptune broke their word.
But before we talk about the specifics of how Neptune broke these things, we need to go over the burden of proof that we, the plaintiff, hold. As the judge will later instruct you, we must prove four things by a preponderance of the evidence; meaning that we must prove that it is just slightly more likely than not that four things are true. First that Neptune owed Lee Allen a duty of care. Second, that Neptune breached that duty of care by acting in a reckless manner. Third, that Neptune’s actions were the direct cause and fourth that they were the proximate cause of Lee Allen’s death.
No one is going to dispute the first element, that Neptune had a duty of care to Lee Allen, so let’s move onto the second element, how Neptune acted recklessly. In order to prove recklessness, we must show that Neptune took risks that no reasonable person could justify. So let’s talk about those risks. You heard from Mr. Fernandez that this dive took place during a storm that reduced visibility and produced strong currents. In short, conditions where no one should be diving. You heard from Bailey Jonson, the man who literally wrote the book on scuba diving, that Neptune caused Lee Allen’s death through their decision to abandon diving industry standards. So let’s talk about those standards. Mr. Jonson told you the absolute limit for safe recreational diving is 130 feet below the surface.
But before we talk about the specifics of how Neptune broke these things, we need to go over the burden of proof that we, the plaintiff, hold. As the judge will later instruct you, we must prove four things by a preponderance of the evidence; meaning that we must prove that it is just slightly more likely than not that four things are true. First that Neptune owed Lee Allen a duty of care. Second, that Neptune breached that duty of care by acting in a reckless manner. Third, that Neptune’s actions were the direct cause and fourth that they were the proximate cause of Lee Allen’s death.
No one is going to dispute the first element, that Neptune had a duty of care to Lee Allen, so let’s move onto the second element, how Neptune acted recklessly. In order to prove recklessness, we must show that Neptune took risks that no reasonable person could justify. So let’s talk about those risks. You heard from Mr. Fernandez that this dive took place during a storm that reduced visibility and produced strong currents. In short, conditions where no one should be diving. You heard from Bailey Jonson, the man who literally wrote the book on scuba diving, that Neptune caused Lee Allen’s death through their decision to abandon diving industry standards. So let’s talk about those standards. Mr. Jonson told you the absolute limit for safe recreational diving is 130 feet below the surface.
