Striebel v. The “Chairman”

The issue in this motion concerned the amount of security to be provided to a shipbuilder who had failed to complete construction of a yacht within the time frame required by the building contract. The purchasers took possession of the yacht as mortgagees and moved it to the yard of another builder for completion. The shipbuilder counterclaimed for lost profits in the amount of $1.8 million and sought security in the amount $2 million. The Prothonotary reviewed the evidence of the shipbuilder’s counterclaim and found it contradictory and incomplete and concluded that the claim would not succeed in the amount presented. The Prothonotary therefore set the security required at $1 million.