View Recent Blog Posts in Admiralty and Maritime
- U.S. Fifth Circuit’s New Doiron Test Finds P&A Contract to be Maritime, but What if the Work Occurred on the OCS? By Tod J. Everage Contractual indemnities are important and valuable in the oil patch. When they are enforceable, they have the potential to end litigation completely or at least the financial burden for a particularly well-positioned indemnitee. But, with “anti-indemnity” statutes in play in several jurisdictions (including Louisiana), the enforceability of these indemnity provisions rely... Continue Reading... ....
- How Much is Too Much? The Louisiana Supreme Court Holds that a Punitive Damage Award Ratio of 184:1 is Excessive By Michael J. O’Brien Punitive damages are designed to punish a tortfeasor. They are available as a remedy in general maritime actions where a tortfeasor’s intentional or wanton and reckless conduct amounted to a conscious disregard for the rights of others. The punitive damage standard requires a much higher degree of fault than simple negligence.... Continue Reading... ....
- Vessel Finance Update: Federal Law Controls Validity of a Preferred Ship Mortgage by Stephen C. Hanemann Increasingly common in coastal Louisiana – and even more so during a depressed, offshore, oilfield-services market – is the strained relationship between a marine lender and a vessel owner secondary to the lender asserting creditor’s rights against the vessel through a pre-existing security instrument. In one such dispute, lender, South Lafourche... Continue Reading... ....
- “Zone of Danger” Rule Applies to Emotionally Injured Passengers Under General Maritime Law within U.S. 1st Circuit; U.S. 5th Circuit Still Undecided by Tod J. Everage On February 12, 2017, a fishing charter boat, the M/V SUPER STRIKE, carrying several paying customers collided with an offshore service boat, the M/V MISS IDA, during a fishing trip. Claims were asserted by the passengers against both vessels and operators in their respective limitation suits. Recently, dispositive motions were filed... Continue Reading... ....
- Louisiana Policy Endorsement does not Contractually Expand Plaintiff’s Right to File Direct Action Against Insurers by R. Blake Crohan The EDLA recently determined that the Insurance Service Office’s (ISO) “Louisiana Changes” endorsement does not expand the scope of Louisiana’s direct action statute. In Menard v. Gibson Applied Technology and Engineering, 2017 WL 6610466 (E.D. La. Dec. 27, 2017), the plaintiff was a senior field technician working offshore in the Gulf... Continue Reading... ....
- International Trade Update: Himalaya Clause Covenant not to Sue Affords Immunity to Carrier’s Contractors By Stephen C. Hanemann In matters of international trade, a bill of lading often serves as the contract of carriage between a shipper and carrier for transportation of goods. A Himalaya clause is a provision contained in certain bills of lading protecting carrier’s servants, agents, and independent contractors from third-party claims by limiting shipper’s rights... Continue Reading... ....
- Spouse of Non-Seafarer Injured in Territorial Waters can Recover Non-Pecuniary Damages for Loss of Consortium and Society by Michael J. O’Brien In 2016, District Judge Sarah Vance ruled that the heirs of a self-employed commercial fisherman who died while fishing in state territorial waters could recover non-pecuniary damages. In Re: Marquette Transp., 182 F.Supp. 3d 607 (E.D. La 2016) (citing Yamaha Motor Corp USA v. Calhoun 516 U.S. 1999 (1996)). [Editor’s Note:... Continue Reading... ....
- Split in the Circuits Sets up Punitive Damages Showdown by Michael J. O’Brien It is now well settled in the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that a seaman cannot recover punitive damages on an unseaworthiness claim. McBride v. Estis Well Service, 768 F.3d 382 (5th Cir. 2014) (en banc). Specifically, the U.S. Fifth Circuit has held that punitives are non-pecuniary losses and... Continue Reading... ....
- U.S. 5th Circuit Addresses McCorpen, Unseaworthiness, and OSHA Preemption in Recent Case By Tod J. Everage Recently, the US Fifth Circuit addressed three maritime tenets in the same case: McCorpen defense, unseaworthiness, and regulatory governance. While these issues can be rather straightforward in the typical case, the facts in Thomas v. Hercules Offshore Services, LLC (5th Cir. March 2, 2018) provided an interesting review of each. The... Continue Reading... ....
- Company Man Presence on Platform does not Equate to Operational Control By Michael O’Brien In Voces v. Energy Resource Technology, GOM, LLC, et al. the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the longstanding general rule in Louisiana known as the independent contractor defense, which provides that a principal is not liable for the negligent acts of an independent contractor acting pursuant to... Continue Reading... ....
