The owner of the docked boat where designer Martha Nolan died earlier this month was once accused of biting a retired New York City firefighter during a Manhattan concert held on the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Christopher Durnan, 60, was accused by Michael Balfe, a Ground Zero first responder, of attacking him during a show at Webster Hall on September 11, 2021, according to a civil suit filed in 2022, which was obtained by the New York Post on Thursday (August 14). Durnan allegedly "bit and assaulted" Balfe during what was described in the lawsuit as an unprovoked attack in which the victim “sustained serious and permanent injuries, suffered, does suffer and will continue to suffer agony to body and mind."

Durnan claimed that Balfe started the fight and that his “use of force was reasonable under the circumstances,” the court documents state. The 60-year-old was criminally charged with intent to cause physical injury, recklessly cause physical injury, possession of a controlled substance, attempted assault in the third degree, and harassment, having pled guilty to a disorderly conduct charge, and the civil suit was settled in December 2023, according to court records.

Nolan, 33, whose full legal name is Martha Nolan-O'Slatarra, was identified as the woman found unconscious on a Grateful Dead themed boat named 'Ripple' docked at the Montauk Yacht Club at around 12:00 a.m. local time and pronounced dead at the scene by first responders on August 6. An autopsy conducted by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office to determine Nolan's official cause of death is pending, however, the sources suspect a possible drug overdose, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the New York Post.

Several Montauk Yacht Club members, including multiple captains, claimed to have heard screaming from the docks late Monday (August 4) night, a club member told the New York Post. A second anonymous club member spoke highly of Nolan.

“She was well known in the community. She was very friendly. Always smiling,” the source said. “There’s going to be a lot of conversation out of this.”

Nolan worked as a marketing consultant, entrepreneur and founder of the East x East fashion brand, according to her Linkedin account and Instagram bio. The Ireland native moved to the United States at age 26, having later launched popups for her East x East summerwear brand in the Hamptons in 2023, the Irish Independent reported as part of a feature story published last year.