Deepwater Horizon owner Transocean seeks liability limit

Transocean, owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and sank last month killing 11 and creating a growing oil spill, today got a Houston judge to stay pending cases against the company. U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison today issued an order suspending cases against Transocean because the company filed a request to limit its liability in the lawsuits filed against it to $26.7 million. Lawyers involved in the myriad of lawsuits filed against Transocean, rig leaser BP and others said they expected Transocean would take advantage of the Limitation of Liability Act, a maritime law that allows a vessel owner to limit liability to the value of the vessel and its freight. The law dates back to the mid 1800s when it was passed to protect U.S. vessel owners, eliminating some risk in crisis situations and aiding competition with foreign ships. Guy Cantwell, a spokesman for Transocean, said the company filed this request on instruction from its insurers and to preserve its insurance.

Juries and the Jones Act

This is from the Supreme of Washington Blog: Endicott v. Icicle Seafoods, Inc., No. 82635-8. The Jones Act is a federal law that allows an injured seaman to sue his employer for negligence. Here, Justin Endicott's arm was crushed by a fish cart aboard Icicle Seafood's ship "Bering Star." He sued in King County Superior Court under the Jones Act and the doctrine of unseaworthiness. The Superior Court allowed Endicott to opt for a bench trial (no jury) and ruled for him on both claims. Icicle appeals on four grounds; the Court today addresses two: the bench trial and an award of prejudgment interest. The decision is unanimous, and the opinion, written by Justice Stephens, includes a summary of the history of the Jones Act. On the jury trial question, the Ninth Circuit and California have held that the Jones Act grants plaintiffs "a substantive federal right to elect the mode of trial," while the Fifth and Seventh Circuits, Louisiana, and California, have found that while the plaintiff can choose "the jurisdictional basis of trial (in admiralty vs. at law) ... jury trial rights flow from this election as procedural incidents." While the trial court adopted the Ninth Circuit position, the State Supreme Court today sides with the Fifth and Seventh Circuits. The Court holds that while the Jones Act grants Endicott the right to bring his case in state court, once he has made that decision, Washington's constitutional right to a jury trial applies. The prejudgment interest award is upheld, but only because it is permitted in a bench trial. The case is remanded for a new trial. (briefs and argument)

Coast Guard: Be Safe on the Water for Memorial Day

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- The U.S. Coast Guard wants to remind everyone on the water to be safe this holiday weekend.In recent weeks, there have been several boat crashes in the area, most notably on Easter Sunday where five people died on the intracoastal. Also, this week's nor'easter has created the potential for dangerous rip currents and unpredictable water conditions. Boaters need to prepare accordingly

Lady Mary Sinking - Coast Guard Hearing

Error in recording emerg radio (epirb) hurt search Vessel monitoring system programmer: 2 dozen boats near Lady Mary did not aid sinking vessel.Two dozen boats were in the general area of a stricken scalloping vessel when it sank off Cape May in March, but none came to its aid or joined a later search for survivors, a U.S. fisheries representative told a Coast Guard inquest board today. Testimony: Two boats passed near sinking trawler

CAPE MAY, N.J. - For two to three hours after a scallop boat is believed to have sunk off Cape May, the Coast Guard heard no mayday calls or any other radio reports that something was wrong. That was the testimony Monday from two Coast Guard officers as the agency resumed its hearing into the sinking of the Lady Mary, which went down off Cape May on March 24. Only one the seven crew members survived. The lapse in time from when the boat is believed to have sunk, and when the Coast Guard first heard something was wrong continued to be a main focus of the inquiry. The hearing was suspended in April to allow the ship's captain to hire a lawyer. A Coast Guard inspector says the Lady Mary passed a safety inspection last July. In another article it was said: Two crew members of the doomed scallop boat that sank off the coast last month may have been under the influence of marijuana when the ship went down, killing six of the seven crew members aboard, a witness in the hearing of the fatal sinking testified this morning. Timothy Smith, who died in the sinking, had high levels of the components of marijuana in the blood samples analyzed after the March 24 sinking, said Anthony Costantino, president and CEO of Drug Scan, the Pennsylvania lab hired by the U.S. Coast Guard to analyze the results of the blood tests. Another story goes on: A scallop boat that sank off the coast of Cape May may have tangled its fishing gear with another ship or an obstruction on the bottom of the ocean, the attorney for the ship's owner said yesterday. A cutter with a ROV was used to look at the vessel.

This article indicates that that Owner of the Lady Mary was critical of the Coast Guard Response.

Jones Act Article

Here is a short blog post on the Jones Act.

This firm like ours at Clark & Watson specializes in Jones Act cases. We have spent our entire careers learning the law and how to protect the rights of seamen who work on tugs, ships and other craft, on the water.

Dwayne Clark and Kristen Watson