A national class action lawsuit has been filed against marina operators Safe Harbor Marinas and SHM Charleston Boatyard for alleged inflation of customer invoices.
The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Miami Charter Yacht and other affected customers for various claims arising from alleged deceptive corporate practices.
The lawsuit seeks damages and restitution for affected boat owners nationwide.
The lawsuit – filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina Charleston Division – alleges that the defendants engaged in ‘bait-and-switch’ type conduct, designed to inflate customer invoices through improper and unauthorised ‘add on’ charges to final billing.
“We filed this class action lawsuit challenging Safe Harbor Marinas’ pattern of inflating customer invoices with unauthorised and deceptive charges unrelated to work they actually performed,” explained Cristina Pierson, partner at lawfirm Kelley | Uustal which is bringing the case.
We believe there are many more yacht owners who have been victims of this same overbilling scheme.
Cristina Pierson
“Making matters worse for the vessel owners, the coercive ‘cash for splash’ policy forces customers to pay in full before their vessel can even leave the marina.”
Cristina added: “We believe there are many more yacht owners who have been victims of this same overbilling scheme who will be entitled to relief through this lawsuit.”
Safe Harbor Marinas provides superyacht servicing and repairs to customers through its 138 marinas.
The lawsuit states that Safe Harbor operates at the direction of centralised corporate management and that ‘the company’s policies, practices, and procedures’ were systematically implemented and enforced across its entire national network.
Miami Charter Yacht is a Florida based limited liability company that owns the 76ft Sanlorenzo yacht Vasiliki which is used for private charter business.
According to the complaint, Miami Charter Yacht’s experience at Safe Harbor’s Charleston facility exemplifies the defendants’ prevalent deceptive practices.
The lawsuit states that the final bill for repairs carried out to Vasiliki in late 2024 was ‘supersized’ by a number of unauthorised surcharges and fees.
The lawsuit brings claims for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, and violation of South Carolina’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.
