Legal matters of maritime concern in Hawaii, Oceania, and beyond.
The State of Hawaii has enacted user fees for port facility upgrades.
Federal law provides that no new user fees can be implemented unless enacted prior to January 1, 1998.
The State has grappled with its attempts to levy fees against maritime users. Judge Gillmor struck down a Ocean Recreation Management Area ("ORMA") permit fee…
The Ninth Circuit just held that workers entitled to a late payment award under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (33 U.S.C. 901-50) can recover attorney’s fees and costs to obtain such award. In Tahara v. Matson Terminals, Inc., the Court approved the lower court award of fees for an injured employee whose…
Congress passed the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill. Highlights of specific funds allocated for Hawaii are denoted, here.
Of particular note, Congress authorized the payment of compensation for fishermen displaced by the fishery closure resulting from the creation of the Papahanaumokueakea Marine National Monument. I’ve included the text of this provision for ease of…
I posted earlier about the Supreme Court agreeing to hear a case stemming from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, here. On Monday, Exxon filed a Petitioner’s Brief, here.
At issue is whether general "maritime law" allows for an award of punitive damages. Specifically, 1) whether federal law will hold a shipowner liable for…
My colleague Robert Thomas posted a new Ninth Circuit case here on a matter relating to maritime trade on his blawg, and because it is really a cutting edge issue, here are my two cents.
The case is UFO Chuting of Hawaii v. Smith. The court’s holding that the State of Hawaii can…
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is proposing a new "interpretive rule" which would impact on foreign cruise liners embarking passengers in U.S. ports. I’ll analyze more later but the rule is available here.
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted a petition to hear Exxon’s claim regarding the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Exxon claims that the $2.5 billion punitive damage award was unlawful.
New York Times reports the details here. SCOTUSBlog reports the details here.
Haven’t read the Petition for Certiorari yet, but will do so and
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion in DHX, Inc. v. Surface Transportation Bd., No. 05-74592 (Aug. 30, 2007) which does much to illuminate the workings of the federal Surface Transportation Board. The opinion follows traditional analysis of judicial review of federal agency decisions, but the court’s recitation…
