Legal matters of maritime concern in Hawaii, Oceania, and beyond.
Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Roberts v. Sea-Land Services case. The transcript of oral arguments is here.
The issue in this case is when an injured longshore worker’s “Average Weekly Wage” is to be determined: at the time of the entitlement to an award of compensation or the actual …
Supplementing my earlier post on the Roberts v. Sea-Land Services, Inc. case, I have obtained copies of the cert-phase briefs from Claimant’s counsel.
The Claimant sought review on the following Questions Presented:
The Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-50 (“Longshore Act”) provides generally…
The Supreme Court just agreed to hear a Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is Roberts v. Sea-Land.
The Ninth Circuit decision can be found here.
I'll digest the decision later. The Supreme Court only granted the cert petition on one of the Questions…
New Defense Base Act/ Longshore case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue is on the timeliness of filing a claim. The case is Dyncorp Int’l v. Dir., OWCP, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 18325 and can be found here.
Facts: a civilian employee was shot by a United Nations peacekeeper from…
New Longshore case from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. It involves the exclusivity of the compensation scheme nestled in the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act. the case is Langfitt v. Federal Marine Terminals, Inc., 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 15658 and can be found here.
Facts are simple: longshore worker is injured…
New LHWCA case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is unpublished (so I’ll be brief) and the opinion is brief but provides an insight on appeals from Administrative Law Judges to the Benefits Review Board. The facts are brief: a worker was injured on a barge in the navigable waters. At issue was…
Update on a Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act case from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court has denied rehearing en banc in the case of Pedroza v. BRB, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 27063 which can be found here.
Facts: A harbor worker was unloading materials from a Navy vessel and struck a 440…
The U.S. Supreme Court just agreed to hear the case of Pacific Operations Offshore, LLP v. Valladolid. Links to docket, briefs, and opinion below, courtesy of SCOTUSBLOG, here.
My earlier post on the Ninth Circuit's opinion is here. As to why SCOTUS took the case? As noted in my earlier post, there…
New Longshore/Defense Base Act case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue is PTSD and wilfull injury to an employee. The case is Eysselinck v. Dir., OWCP, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17227 and can be found here. It is unpublished and not precedential.
Facts: a contract worker home on leave from his job…
New Longshore case from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals relating to the status of the injured claimant and the situs of the injury. There appears to be a circuit split on the meaning of “adjoining area” in 903(a) of the LWHCA, so stay tuned for higher review.
The case is Consolidation Coal Co. v. Benefits…
