Civil Procedure › Maritime Law

Offshore Fairness Act Proposes Extending States’ Offshore Jurisdiction

The offshore jurisdiction of states in the southeastern U.S. could triple in the relatively near future. Two Louisiana Congressmen, U.S. Sen. David Vitter and U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, recently introduced companion bills styled...more

Prevailing Party Fees are Not Recoverable in Cases Arising Under Admiralty Jurisdiction

Insurers with marine risks in Florida should be wary of an evolving conflict among Florida’s lower appellate courts regarding the applicability of Florida’s Offer of Judgment Statute (ch. 768.79) to claims governed by...more

Three Point Shot - March 2013

In this Issue: - Reversal of Fishy Court Opinion Gives Boat Crew Another Chance to Reel in a Million-Dollar Prize - Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow - Grades for Football Prospects Copyrightable, But Sports Writer Not...more

What is a Vessel?

The line between maritime and non-maritime jurisdiction continues to be redrawn. A recent case out of the Southern District of New York, Fireman’s Fund v Great American Insurance Company, 2013 U.S. Dist. 11114, held a dry...more

I’ll Take “Not A Vessel” for $600, Alex: What Is A Tension Leg Platform?

In the wake of the revisited tests of vessel status by the Supreme Court in Stewart vs. Dutra Construction Company, 543 U.S. 481 (2005) and Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 133 S.Ct. 735 (2013), it remains to be seen...more

Jurgens And Bercaw Establish A Tension Leg Platform Is Not A Vessel

Jack Jurgens and Jim Bercaw succeeded in obtaining a partial summary judgment from District Judge Lance M. Africk that the MATTERHORN SEASTAR, a floating tension leg platform (“TLP”) secured to the Outer Continental Shelf off...more

Carnival Nightmare Cruise Triggers Class Action Lawsuit

A dream vacation turned nightmare has sparked a class action lawsuit against the Carnival Corp. cruise line. Over 100 passengers of a cruise that was marooned for days in the Gulf of Mexico without functioning power or...more

Fourth Circuit Refuses to Pierce the Corporate Veil in Oil Spill Case

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has refused to enforce a judgment against an entity with ties to the judgment debtor, finding that the judgment creditor had not adequately pled an alter ego claim....more

Supreme Court Rules Floating Home Not a Vessel Under Federal Maritime Law

On January 15, 2013, the Supreme Court, in a majority decision with two justices dissenting, ruled that a so-called “floating home” which did not have self-propulsion and essentially consisted of a house-like plywood...more

Supreme Court Issues New "Reasonable Observer" Test on What Constitutes a Vessel

In Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Florida, No. 11-626 (January 15, 2013), the U.S. Supreme Court "reformulated" the definition of "vessel." It explained that an objective test, which looks to the physical characteristics of...more

Supreme Ct. Adds Employment-Related Case To Schedule

The Supreme Court will soon hear a case involving a controversial Port of Los Angeles rule that would require trucking companies to hire their drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. The Court added American...more

Jones Act Status Remains Unavailable On SPARS

Jones Act status remains unavailable on SPAR Platforms, a type of deepwater floating oil drilling and production facility used in the offshore petroleum industry. While, as noted in the recent blog by Joseph Devall, Jr., the...more

Legal Definition Of A Vessel: That Certain Unnamed Gray, Two-Story Vessel Before S.C.O.T.U.S. — Part 2

The very question of what makes a structure a “vessel” under Section 3 of the Rules of Construction Act, 1 U.S.C. §3 is before the United States Supreme Court in City of Riviera Beach v. That Certain Unnamed Gray, Two-Story...more

US v. Pokerstars, et. al.

NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT to Hon. Judge Kimba M. Wood

NOTICE OF CASE REASSIGNMENT to Judge Kimba M. Wood. Judge Leonard B. Sand is no longer assigned to the case. (pgu) (Entered: 11/29/2012) ...more

The Fifth Circuit Restates Three Duties Vessel Owners Owe Longshore Employees

Under Section 905(b) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”), a vessel owner owes three duties to longshore employees. In October 2012, the Fifth Circuit granted a summary judgment dismissing serious...more

Legal Definition of a Vessel: That Certain Unnamed Gray, Two-Story Vessel Before S.C.O.T.U.S. — Part 1

A feisty dachsund and its owner, Fane Lozman, have stirred up troubled waters regarding the definition of a “vessel” in City of Riviera Beach v. That Certain Unnamed Gray, Two-Story Vessel Approximately Fifty-Seven Feet in...more

Update on Ship Arrest in Australia – Hidden Arrest Proceedings

This short note is to update our clients and contacts in relation to revised ship arrest filing procedures recently adopted by the Federal Court of Australia, which mean that arrest proceedings won't be known until the...more

Asbestos Alert: A Navy Ship is Not A Product Under Maritime Law: MDL Judge Rules on Sophisticated User/Purchaser Defense and...

Mack v. General Electric Co., et al U.S.D.C., ED Pennsylvania, Action #2:10-78940-ER, (October 3, 2012) MDL No. 875, _____ F. Supp.2d _____ Deciding two issues of first impression, Judge Eduardo C. Robreno, Jr., who...more

11th Circuit Approves Pro Rata Apportionment to Plaintiff and Intervenors of Attachment Costs

In the unpublished opinion of Adams Offshore, Ltd. v. Blake Marine Group, No. 11-12753 (11th Cir. Apr. 27, 2012), the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals adopted the Fifth Circuit’s suggestion in Beauregard, Inc. v. Sword...more

Video: Hurt or Sick on the High Seas – Your Rights When Taking a Cruise

Millions of people each year take cruises for many reasons – a lifelong dream to see a particular part of the world, a special romantic trip such as a honeymoon, or to have fun or celebrate an occasion. This adds up...more

Riding the Wave: Confronting Jurisdictional and Regulatory Barriers to Ocean Energy Development

Wave energy conversion (WEC) is a burgeoning form of hydrokinetic power which takes advantage of energy carried by ocean waves to generate electricity. The global energy potential from ocean energy resources is truly...more

Shipping Group Monthly Bulletin - July 2011

In This Issue: BIMCO...3 BIMCO publishes Wreckhire 2010...3 CIVIL PROCEDURE...4 High Court grants relief from sanctions where the deadline for service of a witness statement was a bank holiday,...more

McAfee & Taft RegLINC - May 2011: New guidance on identifying waters protected by the Clean Water Act By Robert J. Joyce

On April 27, EPA issued a draft of its controversial new Guidance on Identifying Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act (“Guidance”). The guidance is the latest effort by EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers (the “Agencies”)...more

Shipping Newsletter - December 2010, Issue 27

IN THIS ISSUE: 1. Can a Vessel be arrested for a Forward Freight Agreement claim in China? 2. Changes to Port State Controls 3. A Second Bite at the Litigation Cherry: “Collateral Attack” 4. The Maritime Labour...more

Hamrick v. United States, et al, U.S. District Court for DC, Case No. 10-857-JDB, Amended Admiralty/RICO Act Complaint

Admiralty/RICO Act Case for Second Amendment Rights of U.S. Seamen

Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in intrastate, interstate, and maritime travel from a U.S. merchant seaman's point of view. Case started as a simple judicial review of the U.S. Coast Guard's Final Agency Action...more