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Pinellas County’s transit agency settled 37 claims brought by passengers injured aboard the Clearwater Ferry when a private boat struck the vessel last year.
The transit authority approved a $300,000 settlement at its board meeting Wednesday morning. The measure was passed without discussion as part of the agency’s consent agenda and with a unanimous recommendation from its finance committee.
One man died in the April 2025 crash. The ferry had been carrying 48 people at the time.
An unrelated lawsuit filed in June alleges the ferry service, run by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, “breached its duty ... by operating the ferry in a dangerous manner, causing a collision with another boat.”
Jeff Knight, a prominent businessperson and owner of music venue Jannus Live, has said that he couldn’t see the ferry’s navigation lights moments before he struck the vessel with his private boat.
The ferry captain, Dennis Kimerer, had been charged with violation of a navigational rule resulting in a boating accident because the ferry’s stern light was out. His charge was reduced to a noncriminal infraction in May. Kimerer pleaded guilty and was fined $500.
Michael Karcher, a Miami-based maritime lawyer and University of Miami adjunct professor, said the total payout likely has to do with the state’s sovereign immunity laws, which protect government from litigation.
Under Florida law, government entities can be found liable for up to $300,000 per incident or $200,000 per claimant. To collect any more money, victims would have to ask the Legislature to pass a “claims bill,” he added.
State law also requires that victims give the government written notice of their claims.
A spokesperson for the transit agency confirmed that the settlement “fulfills its sovereign immunity.”
When asked whether the claims had to do with the threat of a pending lawsuit, a spokesperson said the agency can’t further discuss any details of the settlement.
“PSTA is grateful to have reached a settlement with all of the claimants who were aboard the ferry that night. Our thoughts remain with everyone impacted by this tragic incident,” spokesperson Stephanie Weaver wrote in a statement.
Palm Beach attorney Michelle Suskauer said the compensation ceiling under these laws has not been adjusted for increases in cost-of-living and medical expenses.
“Thats the problem with these limitations,” she said. “It seems to be very unfair. And how can you appropriately compensate, especially in a case like this where there are so many?”
Claims, including the settlement and legal fees, have cost the transit agency $500,000, according to agenda documents. The agency describes Clearwater Ferry Services LLC, which runs water taxis from Clearwater Beach to downtown Clearwater and Dunedin, as a “contracted vendor.” The ferry service has been reimbursing the agency for those expenses.
In March, the board approved an agreement with its lawyers that it would not pay more than that amount through the end of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30.
“Settling ends our liability and any future exposure to include future medical and ongoing defense costs,” staff wrote to the board.
Staff also noted that the settlement agreements are only with the transit authority and do not prevent passengers from “seeking relief from others, including the driver of the other vessel.”
Knight is facing at least four lawsuits related to the crash, as well as eight felony counts of leaving the scene of a boating accident involving death and/or serious bodily injury.
City footage of the crash shows his boat plowing into the back of the ferry near Clearwater Memorial Causeway Bridge.
Knight stayed at the scene for about 10 minutes before slowly motoring away, the footage shows.
Law enforcement found Knight and his boat about 3½ miles away and towed it to the Belleair Causeway boat ramp. He voluntarily submitted to a breath test that showed no alcohol in his system, officials said at the time.
Knight did not provide a blood sample to test for drugs but was evaluated by a drug recognition expert who did not find signs that he was impaired.
His next hearing is scheduled for Friday.
Correction: The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority settled claims related to the April 2025 Clearwater ferry crash. A previous version of this story had incorrect information about the nature of the settlement.
