Legal matters of maritime concern in Hawaii, Oceania, and beyond.
The Ninth Circuit struck down a challenge to the constitutionality of the Jones Act or Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The case was Novak v. United States and the opinion can be found here.
The litigated component of the Jones Act (rest easy merchant mariners, you didn't lose your worker compensation causes of action)…
There is something about the sea that makes humans poetic.
As a corollary, there is something about maritime cases that make judges very eloquent. Case in chief – consider this closing from Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., Maintenance and Cure decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals:
We are offered no reason to depart …
OK, now that Thanksgiving is out of the way, I have a queue of cases to get out to my loyal followers.
First up, a Jones Act case from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Harrisson v. NCL (Bahamas) Ltd., original opinion can be found here. The case is REALLY about federal appellate court…
There is an adage: bad facts make bad law. But, there is a corollary that not every wrong has a remedy.
The Fifth Circuit has a new Jones Act case that highlights this corollary. The case is Beech v. Hercules Drilling Company, LLC and it can be found here.
Facts: two oil rig…
Hat tip to SCOTUSBLOG for their Petition of the Day.
This is an interesting case that arises in the maritime context, but could have broad impact across all civil litigation. The case is Icicle Seafoods, Inc. v. Clausen.
The Questions Presented are:
1. Whether, in determining the ratio between compensatory and punitive damages for…
New maritime personal injury case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is Manderson v. Chet Morrison Contr, Inc., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 18 and can be found here.
At first blush, this seems like a straightforward case involving Jones Act and Maintenance and Cure claims. But it sets out the law…
New Jones Act case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is Aggarao v. MOL Ship Management Co., 2012. U.S. App. LEXIS 5525 and the original opinion can be found here.
Facts: A seaman was injured onboard the M/V Asian Spirit in Chesapeake Bay, near Baltimore, Maryland. The “devastating” injury resulted in paraplegia. His employ…
Those pesky statutes of limitation. Usually such statutes operate to prevent plaintiff’s untimely claims. But, in this case, the statute of limitation acted to preclude a defendant’s limitation of liability defense.
The case is new from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, it is Eckstein Marine Service v. Jackson, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 3480 and can…
New Jones Act case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. While the Jones Act claim is what prompted this post, it is actually more of a civil procedure case that goes to the heart of federal court jurisdiction, so Civ Pro wonks- take heed.
The case is Holloway v. Pagan River Dockside Seafood, 2012 U.S. App.
New Jones Act case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is Manderson v. Chet Morrison Contractors, Inc., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 18 and can be found here.
The facts don’t seem to be controversial: an engineer on a vessel was hospitalized and received treatment for ulcerative colitis, diabetes and a liver…
