Brendan O'Connor: In a world run by eejits, who is going to shout stop?

The wrongful-death case over the Aug. 5, 2025 death of Irish entrepreneur Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra is moving forward in New York. Her family says her body was found around midnight on Aug. 5 on a boat docked at the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club. Nolan-O’Slatarra, 33, had moved to New York about 10 years earlier and was building a business in sunglasses and swimwear design. Court filings state she had arranged to meet investor Christopher Durnan earlier that evening, and his lawyer previously claimed he told police she went limp between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. and he believed she was having a heart attack. Witnesses cited in filings describe Durnan seen running naked through the marina and screaming for help. On the first anniversary of her death, the family filed wrongful-death proceedings seeking $50 million. A summons with notice was filed Aug. 4 in New York County. The defense says an independent postmortem commissioned by the family conflicts with the state’s exam. The filing names maritime lawyer James E. Mercante of Gallo Vitucci Klar as counsel, with a track record including major admiralty matters.