View Recent Blog Posts in Admiralty and Maritime
- Louisiana Native Scott Angelle to Head the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) By Michael J. O’Brien Scott Angelle, a native of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, has been appointed by the Trump Administration to head the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”). Mr. Angelle first held public office in the late 1980’s. He has since served as a Parish President, Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources, and,... Continue Reading... ....
- Offshore Service Companies Try Bankruptcy, Lobbying to Improve Their Finances By J. Eric Lockridge Large and small offshore service companies are turning to the Bankruptcy Code for help with restructuring their balance sheet, and turning to Washington for help with generating more work. One of the largest offshore service companies in the world, Tidewater, announced this week that it will file a Chapter 11 bankruptcy... Continue Reading... ....
- Title VII Prohibits Employment Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation, Says the Seventh Circuit By Erin Kilgore and Scott Huffstetler On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that sexual orientation discrimination is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As previously noted, there has been much debate among the courts regarding the meaning of the term “sex” under Title VII and... Continue Reading... ....
- BOEM Announces Proposal to Sell 73 Million Acres of Gulf of Mexico Leases By Tod J. Everage With less than one week on the job, newly-confirmed Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke announced that BOEM will offer 73,000,000 acres of lease space located in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas exploration. Proposed Lease Sale 249 is currently scheduled for August 16, 2017, and will include all... Continue Reading... ....
- United States Coast Guard Updates CG-2692 Marine Casualty Reporting Form for 2017 By Michael J. O’Brien U.S. Coast Guard Form 2692 has been used for over forty (40) years to report marine casualties, commercial diving casualties, or outer continental shelf related causalities. Recently, the Form received a long overdue update. The new version of the form, effective as of 2017, is available here as well as the Coast... Continue Reading... ....
- BSEE Notice to Lessees: Revised OCSLA Civil Penalty Assessment Matrix By Tod J. Everage On February 3, 2017, BSEE issued its first Notice to Lessees (NTL) of 2017, advising of the revised OCSLA Civil Penalty Assessment Matrix. For the second time in 6 months, BSEE has increased the maximum civil penalty to $42,704 per day per violation, up from $42,017 per day per violation that... Continue Reading... ....
- Majority of EDLA Judges Acknowledge Continued Viability of Scarborough to Bar Punitive Damages Against Third Parties in Jones Act Cases By Tod J. Everage Until the U.S. 5th Circuit gets an opportunity to directly address the continued viability of Scarborough v. Clemco Industries, 391 F.3d 660 (5th Cir. 2004) in the wake of Atlantic Sounding v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009), we are likely to see a lack of harmony among the district court judges... Continue Reading... ....
- Life Is A Carnival: Princess Cruise Lines to Pay Largest-Ever Criminal Penalty Involving Deliberate Vessel Pollution By McClain Schonekas Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. (“Princess”), a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, agreed to plead guilty in the Southern District of Florida to seven felony charges stemming from deliberate acts of pollution at sea and intentional acts to cover up the pollution. Princess agreed to pay a steep, $40 million penalty— the largest-ever criminal... Continue Reading... ....
- WDLA Rules That Offshore Contractors Are Not Subject To BSEE Regulation By Michael J. O’Brien In an earlier blog post here we highlighted the facts in Island Operating Co., v. Jewell, et al., Civil Action No. 16-145, currently pending in the Lafayette Division of the Western District of Louisiana. The central issue in Island Operating is whether a contractor that provides personnel to perform work on... Continue Reading... ....
- IME Opinion That Seaman is at MMI Will Not Shield Jones Act Employer from Punitive Damage Exposure if Used to Terminate Maintenance and Cure Benefits By Michael J. O’Brien The doctrine of maintenance and cure mandates that an employer pay an injured seaman a per diem living allowance for food and lodging comparable to what the seaman was entitled to while at sea. The injured seaman is also entitled to payment of medical expenses incurred in treating an injury or... Continue Reading... ....
