BOSTON – The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals last week granted a Waterville man a new trial in his lawsuit against an insurance company over the loss of his sailboat.

The three-judge panel overturned a ruling handed down in April by U.S. District Judge John Woodcock in the midst of a jury trial in U.S. District Court in Bangor.

A date for the new trial has not been set.

Frank P. Grande sued St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co. in 2003, several months after the St. Paul, Minn.-based firm refused to pay for the loss of his 44-foot sailboat, the Gina.

With the help of a cousin living in Florida, Grande purchased the boat to replace the Aphrodite, the 25-foot sailboat that he used in a charter service based in Bar Harbor.

Before he left Miami for Maine on May 6, 2003, Grande purchased one-time trip insurance for $150 from St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., the same company that had covered his other boat. He told the insurance agent that his cousin had helped him finance the purchase of the vessel, according to court documents.

After a stopover in Charleston, S.C., the Gina headed for Cape Hatteras, N.C. The vessel was about 67 miles east of there on May 16 when it turned southeast to avoid threatening weather.

When the weather worsened and the sailboat appeared to be in danger, Grande and his two crew members abandoned the Gina. Shortly after midnight on May 17, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued the three from the water between 150 to 160 nautical miles from shore.

Grande notified the insurance company of the loss and rescue the next morning. A few weeks later, he received a letter denying coverage due to a 100-mile navigational limit in the insurance coverage.

Grande sued the firm in October 2003, seeking $75,000 to cover the cost of the boat and recovery and towing charges to retrieve the vessel and return it to Maine. He also is seeking to recover lost earnings – the difference between using the smaller Aphrodite instead of the Gina for his charter service business.

The jury trial in the case began in April 2005. After Grande’s attorney, Michael Savasuk of Portland, had presented his case, the defense moved for judgment as a matter of law – a standard motion at that point in most jury trials.

Woodcock granted the motion made by Mark Furey, the Portland attorney representing the insurance company. The judge then dismissed the jury and ruled that the insurance company had won the case because Grande had failed:

. to disclose his cousin’s financial interest in the boat.

. to establish contract coverage for the trip.

. to establish that a different company would have insured the Gina outside the 100-mile limit.

Writing for the appellate court, Chief Judge Michael Boudin said that based on testimony, a jury could conclude that Grande was the owner but not the registered owner of the vessel and could find that the insurance was in force for the trip due to Grande’s oral contract with the insurance agent.

The judge also said that a jury could find that Grande would not have traveled outside the 100-mile limit if he’d known of the coverage limitation. The appellate court did not consider whether other companies might have insured the boat.