Family Files $50M Wrongful Death Suit Over Fashion Designer's Montauk Yacht Death

The mother of an Irish fashion designer who was found dead aboard a boat moored at a Montauk yacht club last year has initiated a $50 million wrongful death action targeting the vessel's owner, according to court records entered Tuesday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Elma Geraldine Nolan, mother of Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra, 33, together with Marcello de Peralta as temporary administrator of the designer's estate, filed a summons with notice identifying Christopher Durnan, 61, of Long Beach, as the defendant. Durnan owns the Ripple, a 32-foot pleasure boat on which Nolan-O'Slatarra was discovered dead in the early hours of Aug. 5, 2025, while the vessel was moored at the Star Island Yacht Club on Star Island Road.

The summons charges Durnan with intentionally assaulting the designer and with gross negligence and reckless conduct that caused her death. It does not elaborate on the specific allegations. Durnan has not faced any criminal charges in connection with the case.

Attorney Michael Bowe, who filed the notice alongside Lauren Tabaksblat and Jaime Freilich-Fried, described the summons as the opening step in the legal process, explaining that a formal complaint would follow once Durnan is served. "We will serve the summons, then a complaint and then take discovery to secure all the relevant evidence before presenting it in court," Bowe said.

Bowe also noted that the civil burden of proof — a preponderance of evidence — is a lower threshold than the standard prosecutors would need to satisfy in a criminal case.

Durnan's attorney, Robert Holdman, said he had not yet seen the court filings and had no comment. Durnan did not respond to requests for comment.

A Suffolk County spokesperson said Thursday there was no update on the investigation into Nolan-O'Slatarra's cause of death. An autopsy conducted after her death showed no evidence of violence, police said at the time, with the cause of death pending further examination. Suffolk County's interagency East End Drug Task Force had previously looked into whether drugs played a role in her death.

Nolan-O'Slatarra co-founded the sustainable fashion brand East x East in 2022 and had launched a beachside pop-up at a Montauk resort shortly before her death.