Since the enactment of the Jones Act, courts have wrestled to define "seaman" and who is entitled to remedies under the Jones Act. The Jones Act grants a "seaman" a negligence cause of action against his employer and only a...more
The massive public attention focused on the Jones Act in Puerto Rico immediately after Hurricane Maria was eerily analogous to the public spotlight on the law during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (the “Gulf Spill”) in the...more
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke on Sept. 28, 2017, approved a waiver of the Jones Act in response to the severe impact Hurricanes Irma and Maria have had on Puerto Rico. The U.S. Department of Homeland...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Sept. 27, 2017, said that it has not formally denied a Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico requested on Sept. 25 by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and seven other members of the...more
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke has issued an extension of the original Sept. 8 Jones Act waiver to Sept. 22. The extended waiver, dated Sept. 11, 2017, but only recently posted by the U.S. Department of...more
In the wake of fuel shortages arising from Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, Tuesday evening the US Customs and Border Protection (Customs) extended and expanded its September 8 waiver of the coastwise trade provisions of the Jones...more
Action Item: On September 8, 2017, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) Elaine Duke granted a seven-day waiver of the Jones Act in the interest of national defense. The waiver was issued to...more
• A disruption of refinery operations and ocean shipping on the U.S. Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Harvey may spur oil industry requests for a waiver of the Jones Act to permit non-U.S. vessels to move crude oil and...more
In a sweeping move that has been widely and vociferously praised by supporters and passionately decried by opponents, the Customs and Border Patrol Agency (CBP) on the second-to-last day of the Obama administration’s tenure,...more
In what could foretell a significant increase in the enforcement of the coastwise trade provisions of the Jones Act, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) announced on July 18 the creation of the National Jones Act...more