Gary alleged that the company was negligent, and that it placed more emphasis on making profits instead of protecting the lives of the crew.
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Tote Maritime declined to discuss the lawsuit and a spokesman said the company was “fully focused on supporting the families and their loved ones”.
Gary now represents only Jordan’s family, but he told reporters he was also working alongside the relatives of other crew members.
Jordan, 33, of Jacksonville, worked on the ship for 13 years as a cook and at other jobs, his family told the Jacksonville Times-Union. The last communication came October. 1, when the crew reported that it had lost power, was listing at 15 degrees and was taking on water. “Lonnie didn’t have to die”, said Gary, surrounded by Jordan’s parents and friends in front of the courthouse. “We understand they could have gotten a different ship, they could have sailed a different route”.
The lawsuit on behalf of Jordan’s family is the first to be filed in the cargo ship tragedy.
The El Faro was scheduled for retirement from Caribbean duty and for new retrofitting for service between the West Coast and Alaska, company officials have said.
Gary said he will hire safety experts and others to work on the El Faro case. “I want to see them do business the right way”, he said.
He said the case is going nowhere fast.
The vessel sank during a routine trip from Jacksonville to San Juan, Puerto Rico, partly because of rough weather caused by Hurricane Joaquin two weeks ago.
A seven-day air-and-sea search only yielded a trail of debris and the remains of one person, in a survival suit, before the US Coast Guard suspended the effort last Wednesday.
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The US National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding El Faro’s disappearance.
