[Please excuse the quick post, but I am on active duty with the Coast Guard Reserve for the next two weeks.]

The Supreme Court just granted a cert. petition to address the issue of punitive damages in Jones Act cases, here. 

Per SCOTUSBLOG, the issue below is:

In the new case involving the rights of an injured seaman (Atlantic Sounding, et al., v. Townsend, 08-214), the Court stepped in to resolve a conflict in lower courts on whether punitive damages are available for a shipboard worker hurt on the job if the owner or operator denies “maintenance and cure” payments.  Maintenance, in this context, means a basic living allowance and wages that a seaman otherwise would have earned, and cure means benefits that cover medical needs.

The appeal contends that the two laws that provide remedies for seamen’s injuries or death on the job — the Jones Act and the Death on the High Seas Act — do not cover any damages other than the seaman’s own direct loss; in other words, they do not cover “non-pecuniary damages.”  The appeal asserts that the Supreme Court has made clear that benefits in the maritime industry should be uniform across the country, and should depend mainly on what Congress has authorized in legislation.

More to follow.

The State of Hawaii filed its Brief in Opposition to UFO Chuting's Petition for Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The brief is here. 

The State's argument is several:  first, that UFO Chuting's argument regarding the Marine Mammal Protection Act was not presented to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (and therefore the Supreme Court…

Senator Kerry has introduced a new bill

Bloggers and mainstream media are abuzz about the Supreme Court's decision in the Exxon Shipping v. Baker case, posted here.  These are some of the articles/posts.

Drug and Device Law Blog:  http://druganddevicelaw.blogspot.com/2008/06/exxon-valdez-punitive-damages-award.html.

San Francisco Chronicle: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/06/25/national/w071122D89.DTL&feed=rss.news

NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Scotus-Exxon-Valdez.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-valdez26-2008jun26,0,3673626.story

American Constitution Society:

http://www.acsblog.org/news-and-announcements-four-more-decisions.html

Reuters:

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousivMolt/idUSWBT00926720080625

Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aj1YbOuNs.cs&refer=home

NPR (real media

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker case, posted earlier here.

There were three issues on appeal: 1) does general maritime law allow for corporate liability for punitive damages based on the acts of managerial agents; 2) does the Clean Water Act preempt punitive damages awards in…

Together with my colleagues, Robert Thomas and Christi-Anne Kudo Chock, we filed an amicus brief on behalf of Hawaii's Ocean Tourism Coalition in support of the Petition a Writ of Certiorari that UFO Chuting filed in the case of UFO Chuting, Inc. v. Smith.  My original post is here.  The Ninth Circuit opinion is here…

Congress held hearings yesterday to review the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board's marine casualty investigation program.  Concerns were expressed about training, tour lengths and dissemination of information and recommendations.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's office provided testimony. 

The NTSB provided comment denoting some bureaucratic wrangling in the wake of the…

The Coast Guard issued an interim rule with a request for comments by July 21, 2008. 

The rule intends to implement the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers qualification requirements for vessel security officers.