Legal matters of maritime concern in Hawaii, Oceania, and beyond.
New case from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals regarding arbitration clause in a Jones Act employment contract. The case is Lindo v. NCL (BAHAMAS), LTD., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 18001 and it can be found here (with a 24 page dissent, it is 92 pages, so PRINT CAUTION).
Facts: a Nicaraguan citizen is…
New Ninth Circuit case involving a maritime tort claim against a cruise ship for injuries suffered during a port call. The case is Samuels v. Holland American Line-USA Inc., et al. and it can be found here.
Facts: The plaintiff was injured during a port call to Cabo San Lucas. His injuries were caused by…
Another maritime case about a train wreck. The case is Federal Insurance Company v. Union Pacific Railroad Company and it can be found here.
Facts: Company contracts with carrier to ship goods from Singapore to Alabama. Cargo damages when train derails on mainland portion of transport. Insurance company pays shipper’s claim then brings…
Attention Cruisers: this is your Captain speaking.
Your ticket says that you have a one year statute of limitation if you get injured. It also says that you have a choice of law and have selected a forum to bring your claim.
The Eleventh Circuit says, “Ignore them at your risk.”
The case is Crist…
Among the cases in my queue awaiting my analysis is Pacific Merchant Shipping Association v. Goldstene, which can be downloaded here. It relates to the Submerged Lands Act and whether it preempts state regulation of marine fuels. Not a simple topic to blog about, hence Apparently a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari was…
New Jones Act case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. No major legal issues as the appeal was taken on factual/evidentiary grounds.
Note to claimant’s attorneys: Fifth Circuit did not require expert testimony to establish the negligence of owner or Captain.
The case is Bonin v. Ryan Marine Services, Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 3227…
New case involving products liability arising from a boat engine. The case is Curtis Oswalt v. Resolute Industries Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 12114 and can be downloaded here.
The case involved a repair gone awry, eventually leading to a fire. The repairer was sued and brought a third party complaint against the…
This is a case about the applicability of the Federal Arbitration Act to a contract that specified the usage of English law. Hold on, don’t close the post, I’m posting because it arose out of the grounding of the M/V Cape Flattery, near Barbers Point, Oahu. The salvage caused damage to the coral reef nearby and the United States…
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit just handed down its decision in the case of Lake Carriers’ Association v. EPA, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14996 which can be found here.
Summary: This case involved several maritime trade associations bringing a challenge to a nationwide permit for the discharge of pollutants…
New admiralty case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. In brief, the case involved an allision between a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) and an oil platform. The issue in the case was whether the trial court mistakenly let an admiralty case go to a jury when admiralty cases are not tried by juries. The court found the case governed by…
