Western World Insurance Company v. The Estate of Shawn Arsenault

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
WESTERN WORLD INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
THE ESTATE OF SHAWN ARSENAULT,
Defendant.
No. 25-cv-13413-PGL
ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY RELIEF
LEVENSON, U.S.M.J.
INTRODUCTION
This is an admiralty case in which a marine insurer seeks a declaratory judgment
regarding disposition of the proceeds of a hull insurance policy following the wreck of the
insured vessel and the death of the insured owner.
Before the Court is an ex parte Emergency Motion to Preserve Hull Insurance Proceeds
Pending Probate Proceedings by Western World Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) seeking leave
to: (i) permit Plaintiff’s counsel to obtain and hold the hull insurance proceeds in an Interest On
Lawyers’ Trust Account (“IOLTA”) in trust for the Estate of Shawn Arsenault (the “Estate”), (ii)
authorize Plaintiff’s counsel to apply an offset of $1,701 against the hull insurance proceeds for a
claimed unpaid premium, and (iii) authorize Plaintiff to dispose of a shipwrecked vessel in order
to curtail the ongoing accrual of storage fees. The last of these requests is the most urgent and
involves the most substantial interests.
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Plaintiff supports the motion with two affidavits: that of Mr. Arsenault’s eldest daughter,
Melissa Arsenault (Docket No. 4-1), and that of an insurance broker, Timothy Stanton, who
served as an intermediary between Mr. Arsenault and Plaintiff in the placement of the insurance
policy (Docket No. 4-2). Plaintiff informs the Court in its ex parte motion that no personal
representative has yet been named for the Estate, which is the named Defendant in this case.
Docket No. 4 at 1.
In the meantime, Plaintiff informs the Court, storage fees are accumulating for the
wrecked vessel. In a brief ex parte hearing on December 16, 2025, counsel for Plaintiff informed
the Court that these fees amount to tens of thousands of dollars and are growing daily, while the
hull itself does not appear to have any significant salvage value. See Docket No. 7.
No one has appeared, or—apparently—been served for Defendant. In her affidavit,
Melissa Arsenault represents that she intends to petition to be named personal representative for
the Estate. Docket No. 4-1 ¶ 7. At the hearing on this matter, Plaintiff had no additional
information regarding a possible time frame for appointment of an executor for the estate.
I. 	Background
The record in the instant case consists of the complaint, Docket No. 1 (“Complaint”), and
the motion, Docket No. 4 (“Emergency Motion”) supported by the two affidavits mentioned
above.
According to the record, on June 8, 2025, the F/V Seahorse (the “Vessel”), a thirty-foot
commercial dragger, sank off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, causing the death of the
ship’s owner and operator, Shawn Arsenault. Complaint at 2.
Mr. Arsenault is the named assured on a marine insurance policy on the Vessel, issued by
Plaintiff. Id. As no probate court has yet named a personal representative of Mr. Arsenault’s
estate, Plaintiff has been unable to determine the payee of the hull insurance proceeds. Id. at 3.
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Melissa Arsenault intends to petition a probate court to name her as a personal representative for
her father’s estate, but she has not yet done so. Docket No. 4-1 ¶ 7.
Plaintiff’s interests paid for the recovery and removal of the wrecked Vessel, which was
deemed a total constructive loss. Complaint at 2–3. Plaintiff has determined that the loss of the
Vessel is within the scope of coverage. Id. at 3. The wrecked Vessel is currently in the
possession of a salvage company, where it is incurring storage fees. Id.
II. 	Legal Standard
Plaintiff invokes the Court’s subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and
1333, which give federal courts “original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the
Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States” (28 U.S.C. § 1331) and “original jurisdiction”
over “[a]ny civil case of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction. . . .” (28 U.S.C. § 1333(1)).
Complaint at 1.
III. 	Analysis
Plaintiff’s Emergency Motion asserts that it seeks to reduce the cost of the Vessel
storage. At the ex parte hearing on December 16, 2025, Plaintiff’s counsel indicated that the
storage costs will not come out of the $50,000 insurance proceeds, but that the sums involved are
considerable and that the hull has no significant salvage value. I address each of the three areas
in which Plaintiff requests preliminary relief in turn.
A. 	Hull Insurance Proceeds
Plaintiff asserts that “[u]ntil such time as Western World is able to have its rights and
responsibilities under the Policy adjudicated (namely, to determine the proper payee under the
aforesaid Hull Policy) Western World will suffer uncertainty with regard to its responsibilities
and obligations under the terms of the Policy.” In its motion, Plaintiff asserts that “allowing
counsel to hold the hull insurance proceeds in trust for the decedent's estate” will allow Plaintiff
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to “assume control over and dispose of the wrecked Vessel, terminating ongoing storage fees.”
Emergency Motion at 1.
I conclude that, as officers of the court, counsel for Plaintiff may appropriately serve as
temporary custodians of the funds and that they will effectuate distribution to the rightful
recipient of the funds, at such time as the Court is able to make that determination. Releasing the
insurance proceeds to the IOLTA account of Plaintiff’s counsel will reasonably assure that those
proceeds are intact and available at such time as the Court is ready to determine the correct payee
for those proceeds.
B. 	Unpaid Premium Deduction
Unlike the pressing need to stanch the ongoing accrual of storage fees, sorting out the
possible deductions from the policy proceeds to cover a premium does not appear particularly
urgent. Although Plaintiff alleges that Mr. Arsenault owes $1,701 in outstanding premium, the
Court has not seen a record of such overdue premium, nor found a statement as to the amount of
any overdue premium in the Affidavit of Insurance Broker Timothy Stanton. Docket No. 4-1. It
appears that any obligation to pay an outstanding premium could be addressed after a personal
representative for the estate has been appointed and served. With the policy proceeds secured in
the IOLTA account of Plaintiff’s counsel, there is no serious risk that the monies will be lost or
diverted. For this reason, I DENY Plaintiff’s request for leave to deduct $1,701 from the hull
insurance proceeds at this time.
C. 	Disposing of the Vessel
Plaintiff contends that the Vessel, in possession of the salvage company who recovered it,
is incurring storage fees. Were it not for the death of the insured and the absence of an appointed
representative for his estate, Plaintiff represents that it would normally pay the claim for the loss,
take ownership, and properly dispose of the Vessel. Having heard from Plaintiff on questions of
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the value of the wreck and the amount of fees incurred, it seems likely that further delaying this
matter while waiting for appointment of an estate representative will result in needless waste.
CONCLUSION
For the forgoing reasons, the motion is ALLOWED in part (as to requests (1) and (3))
and DENIED in part (as to request (2)).
Plaintiff’s counsel, Holbrook & Murphy, shall temporarily take custody of any insurance
proceeds and hold such proceeds in escrow in counsel’s IOLTA for the benefit of the rightful
recipient.
Plaintiff is permitted to dispose of the Vessel, pursuant to the Policy’s warranties,
exclusions, terms, and conditions.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ Paul G. Levenson
Paul G. Levenson
U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Dated: December 17, 2025
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