Last summer, a Thommessen lawyer died in a boat accident in Lyngdal. Now the man who led the boat has been convicted of negligently causing the lawyer’s death.
Last summer, on the night of July 24, the emergency services in Lyngdal received a report that a 16-foot light boat with four people on board had run into an iron stake on the way back from crab fishing. The accident resulted in the death of 37-year-old Stian Aleksander Stene Slotte from Bærum, then a lawyer in Thommessen.
The other three who were in the boat were flown to hospital, but none of them suffered life-threatening injuries. Shortly after the accident, police prosecutor Svein Håland in the Agder police district was able to say that one of the three survivors had the status of being charged in the case.
Now the driver of the boat, a man in his early 30s from Southern Norway, has been sentenced to prison for 60 days. Of these, 39 days are made conditional, with a probationary period of two years. In addition, the man has been imposed a two-year suspension period with regard to the boat driving test. Furthermore, the man must cover legal costs of NOK 5,000.
“During his navigation of the boat, according to the conditions on the spot, he was not sufficiently watchful, cautious and/or attentive, as he guided the boat in the dark with limited visibility”, according to the judgment from the Agder district court.
It was further emphasized that the driver kept a high speed, and that he had not passed the compulsory boat driving test.
AdvokatWatch has also discussed the case.
Denied criminal guilt
In court, the defendant pleaded not guilty.
After an overall and concrete assessment of the facts, the court found it proven that the defendant was guilty of negligently causing death. The prosecutor wanted 30 of the 60 days to be suspended. The court nevertheless emphasized the close relationship between the deceased and the defendant, which is why 39 days of the prison sentence were suspended.
– Such an incident is not something that fades away. You carry it with you for the rest of your life. It’s going well, and fortunately the family ties are still strong, the man’s defender, Nils Anders Grønås at the Wigemyr law firm, tells VG.
– My client must read it carefully and take time to consider a possible appeal, continues the defender.
Started in Thommessen as a student
In Thommessen, Slotte mainly worked with transactions. He started at the firm as a student back in November 2009. He studied law at the University of Oslo, where he graduated in 2013. Slotte had an exchange stay at Cornell University in New York, and also studied for one year at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.
From October 2016 to April 2017, he worked as a deputy judge in Oslo Byfogdembete, while from January 2020 to March 2022 he was a lawyer at DNB. Slotte was married to Thommessen partner Frida Stene-Slotte.
– Stian was a wonderful fellow and an exceptionally good colleague, said managing partner in Thommessen, Sverre Tyrhaug, in the wake of the accident last year.
