On July 17, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a Jones Act seaman’s personal injury suit on forum non conveniens grounds. The decision turned on the enforceability of a forum selection clause in the seaman’s employment contract mandating that litigation take place in England.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Jones Act Claims Based on Forum Non Conveniens
On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the Coast Guard’s determination that a vessel is considered “built in the United States” for purposes of coastwise endorsement eligibility notwithstanding its incorporation of a foreign-made crane.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Upholds Coast Guard Determination that Dredging Barge with Foreign-Made Crane May Operate in the United States
On March 12, 2024, in Santee v. Oceaneering International, Inc. et al., the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a published opinion reaffirming the law on several issues that consistently arise in the maritime and oil and gas industries, and particularly associated with operations on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Continue Reading Factual & Legal Leaps Fall Flat: The Fifth Circuit Affirms that Plaintiff Was Not a Jones Act Seaman
Maritime law has many unique characteristics that differentiate it from state and federal law. One of these characteristics is the application of presumptions of fault, causation, and the condition of property, which shifts the burden of proof from one party to the other.
Continue Reading An Introduction to Maritime Law Presumptions
On December 4, 2023, in Marquette Transportation Co. Gulf-Inland, LLC v. Navigation Maritime Bulgare JSC, et al., the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that state law—and specifically in this case, Louisiana law—governs the applicable negligence standard and burden of proof for a pilot’s error.
Continue Reading When It Comes to Pilot Errors: State Statutes Preempt General Maritime Law
On October 30, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana found that the rule established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Robins Dry Dock & Repair Co. v. Flint applied to the case at hand, barring claimants from recovering economic damages for deferred oil production.
Continue Reading Corporate Protection Pipeline: Court Denies Economic Damages Based on Robins Dry Dock
On October 18, 2023, the EPA published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“SNPR”) regarding incidental discharges from vessels, proposing national performance standards under the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (“VIDA”).
Continue Reading EPA’s Proposed Rule on Vessel Incidental Discharges Brings VIDA One Step Closer to Full Implementation
Most American maritime and environmental attorneys and vessel owners are familiar with OPA 90 and oil spill liability in the United States. But what happens when a vessel spills oil in the territorial waters of another country?
Continue Reading Oil Spill Liability: OPA 90 v. the IMO’S CLC
Fires at sea have been one of the greatest risks to ships and cargo for over a thousand years, and they implicate some of maritime law’s most unique aspects.
Continue Reading Maritime Law: Key Legal Issues in Fires at Sea, Cargo Damage, Salvage, and More
On June 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit analyzed what constitutes a prima facie maritime claim sufficient to support attachment of property under Rule B of the Supplemental Rules of Admiralty of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Continue Reading Third Circuit Restores Rule B Attachment Based On Breach of Contract Claim Under English Law, Implied Indemnity Claim Not Enough