The family of Jeanica Julce, a 27-year-old Somerville woman who was killed in a boat crash in Boston Harbor in July 2021, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on Monday against the operator of the vessel, who is also charged criminally in connection with the fatal outing, according to legal filings.
Julce’s family filed a $15 million suit in Suffolk Superior Court against Ryan Denver, the owner and operator of the vessel named “Make It Go Away,” which Julce and several other passengers were on when it crashed into a navigational marker off Castle Island around 3 a.m. on July 17, 2021, court records show.
A second named defendant in the lawsuit was Lee Rosenthal, a Beverly resident who was operating a boat that allegedly hit Julce in the water after “Make It Go Away” had capsized, according to the civil complaint.
“The filing includes a false accusation regarding Mr. Rosenthal who was found to have no responsibility or involvement by police detectives and rescue personnel who investigated the fatal accident,” Rosenthal’s lawyer, Kevin G. Kenneally, said in a statement. “The at-fault party was charged. The authorities confirmed in the investigation that an individual in the water who was not the victim asked Mr. Rosenthal to look for the young woman, which he did. According to the official police reconstruction, Mr. Rosenthal then ‘transited away to not interfere with the rescue’ as police and fire boats arrived.”
Denver has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of manslaughter, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious injury. His trial is scheduled for February in Suffolk Superior Court, records show.
“Since the day of this tragic accident, Ryan Denver has said that he operated his boat in a reasonable manner and at an appropriate speed, while sober,” his lawyer, Michael Connolly, said in a statement Tuesday. “The navigational marker which his boat hit was poorly illuminated and obscured by dredging operations. After the impact, Ryan and his passengers entered the harbor as the boat began taking on water. Ryan did everything in his power to assist them until first responders arrived on the scene and he has cooperated fully with law enforcement since.”
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In the civil complaint, Julce’s family said she was one of eight people on Denver’s boat at the time of the crash.
Denver “operated his vessel in a negligent, grossly negligent, and/or reckless manner so as to strike an immovable navigation device, Daymarker #5, in Boston Harbor,” causing the boat to capsize, the lawsuit alleged.
The lawsuit said Denver, a Seaport resident, had consumed alcohol that night.
Connolly, however, said Tuesday that there was no evidence developed during the grand jury investigation that Ryan was impaired that evening. Additionally, the boat was not speeding, and the issue of speed was excluded from the criminal case by a Superior Court judge.”
Denver, Connolly said, “entered a plea of not guilty and we have every expectation that once presented with all of the evidence a jury will exonerate him.”
At the time of the crash, Denver was “operating his vessel at an unsafe speed” and “failed to use and heed his navigational instruments” when he struck the marker, the lawsuit alleges.
After the crash, the boat skippered by Rosenthal arrived before any emergency vessels, according to the lawsuit. As it was circling the area, it hit Julce, who had been swimming toward the boat, the lawsuit alleged.
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Rosenthal has not been charged criminally in connection with the crash. But in 2022, his lawyer said in related federal civil proceedings that investigators had determined that Rosenthal “was not at fault but simply ‘transited away from the area to not interfere’ with the official federal, state and local rescue vessels coming to the scene.”
Julce’s body was recovered from the water shortly after 10 a.m., according to authorities.
The suit said Julce would not have died but for the “negligence, gross negligence, and/or recklessness” of Denver and Rosenthal.
In the days after her death, her family remembered her as a kindhearted person.
“My sister was beautiful in every way,” her sister, Latoya Julce, told The Boston Globe. “She could always find a way to make anyone feel better or confident about themselves. I’m not understanding how she’s the only one that didn’t make it.”
She said her sister, “the light in our family,” was with friends on the boat, and that she was often on the boat.
Her father, Wilfred Julce, said she studied at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She loved to dance and planned to open a studio, he said.
He described his daughter as outgoing and ambitious, someone who “loved life.”
“She was always smiling, laughing. She was a people person. Ask anybody,” he said.
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Shortly after the crash, Denver released a statement describing Julce as a close friend.
“I am incredibly saddened by the loss of my dear friend this weekend in a boating accident on Boston Harbor. My deepest sympathies are extended to Jeanica’s family,” Denver said. “I am thankful to those first responders who came to our aid and will cooperate with their follow-up to our rescue.”
Also on Monday, another passenger on the “Make It Go Away” at the time of the crash, Aristide Lex, filed a separate lawsuit against Denver, listing more than $300,000 in damages.
Lex suffered “serious and severe personal injuries” including “permanent injuries and disfigurement,” when he was thrown from the boat, the suit alleged.
The suit said Lex incurred “significant medical expenses and costs, and incurred lost wages, as well as impairment of his earning capacity and future medical costs associated with his care and attendance.”
This story has been updated.
Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.