Maritime Tragedy Sparks $50M Lawsuit Over Fashion Designer's Yacht Death

The family of Irish fashion designer Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, who was found dead last year on a boat at the Montauk Yacht Club, is preparing to file a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit. The lawsuit targets Christopher Durnan, a 61-year-old insurance executive from Long Beach and the owner of the 32-foot pleasure boat, the Ripple, where Nolan-O’Slatarra's body was discovered.

A summons detailing the planned lawsuit was filed in Manhattan Supreme Court by Elma Geraldine Nolan, Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra's mother, along with an attorney managing the designer's estate. This filing occurred on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Nolan-O’Slatarra's death. While Durnan has not faced criminal charges in connection with her death, the lawsuit accuses him of "intentionally and wrongfully" assaulting the designer and engaging in "reckless and wanton conduct" that led to her death. Durnan had reportedly been an investor in Nolan-O’Slatarra's business, East x East.

Last year, Newsday reported that Suffolk County's interagency East End Drug Task Force was investigating the potential role of drugs in the death of Nolan-O’Slatarra, who was 33 and resided in Manhattan. A source close to the investigation indicated at the time that while a drug overdose was considered "very likely," investigators had not dismissed the possibilities of homicide or natural causes. A Suffolk police spokesperson recently stated there were no updates on the investigation or the official cause of death. An autopsy conducted on Nolan-O’Slatarra previously showed no evidence of violence, according to police reports from last year.

Records show that Christopher Durnan owns residences in Montauk and Palm Beach, Florida, and operates Durnan Group Inc., an insurance business in Rockville Centre specializing in workers' compensation insurance.

East Hampton Town Police received a 911 call shortly after midnight on August 5, 2024, from a man reporting an unconscious woman on a boat at the yacht club. Good Samaritans attempted to perform CPR on Nolan-O’Slatarra, but first responders later pronounced her dead.

Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra had moved to New York City over a decade prior to her death. In 2020, she launched Out East Eyewear, a luxury sunglasses brand. In 2022, she co-founded East x East with business partner Dylan Grace. The brand's website describes it as offering sustainable, unisex "resort wear" items, including sunglasses and swimsuits. Shortly before her passing, Nolan-O’Slatarra had opened a beachside pop-up shop at Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa. In a 2024 interview with the Irish Independent, Nolan-O'Slatarra shared her upbringing in Carlow, Ireland, and her academic journey at the Institute of Education in Dublin and University College Dublin, where she studied commerce. She expressed her ambition in the interview, stating, "I always knew I wanted to be successful, that I was money-driven, business driven and that fashion is a tough industry and it would be a slow road."