Man Wins $6.8 Million in Loss of His Yacht

A former yacht owner won a $6.8-million civil court judgment Tuesday against Los Angeles County because sheriff’s deputies and harbor patrol officers helped transfer control of his vessel to a Riverside man.

Superior Court Judge Robert C. Nye awarded the damages to Richard Compton, 55, of Los Angeles, ending an eight-year legal battle.

Compton, who both lived on board the 110-foot Magnifico II in Marina del Rey and rented it out as a floating recording studio, lost the boat in November, 1977, to Franco Nicoletti of Riverside.

Compton, who was searching for financial backing to buy a second vessel for similar commercial use, met Nicoletti and asked him for help, Compton’s lawyer, Rodney Lewin said Tuesday.

The boat was “extorted at gunpoint” from Compton by Nicoletti, the attorney said. He said Nicoletti forced Compton to sign a document called a preferred ship’s mortgage. Then, when Compton tried to take the boat to sea to avoid Nicoletti, he was stopped by harbor patrol officers and arrested by sheriff’s deputies, Lewin said.

Nicoletti was forced by the courts to return the boat, Lewin said. Three years later, Nicoletti lost a $9-million civil suit brought by Compton, but Compton has not been able to collect, the attorney added. When returned, the yacht was all but wrecked, and Compton realized only $10,000 from its sale, Lewin said.

Nye awarded Compton $3 million for the loss of the ship, $2.5 million for the loss of nearly eight years’ business renting the vessel, $500,000 for personal property, $750,000 in mental and physical suffering and $40,000 in costs incurred recovering the boat.

Nye dismissed Compton’s charges against Sheriff’s Capt. Leroy Baca, saying he and other officers lacked sufficient training to properly deal with the ownership dispute.

Senior Deputy County Counsel Owen Gallagher said he will seek permission from the Board of Supervisors to appeal the decision.