“Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it.” The timeless words of Will Munny in Unforgiven resonate when considering the efficacy of imputing liability to the corporate shipowner in the medical malpractice context. Should cruise ship corporations be held liable for the negligence of their onboard medical personnel? And, is there anything inherent about the maritime […]
Limitation of Shipowner’s Liability: The State (Court) We’re In
Under the law of the United States, a shipowner has the right to limit its liability for damages following a marine casualty in accordance with the provisions of the Limitation of Vessel Owner’s Liability Act of *158 1851 (Limitation Act or Act). Generally, the Act permits a vessel owner to limit its liability for any […]
Historically Iced Out: Calling on the United States To Resolve Its International Law Disputes in the Arctic Ocean
Projections show that Arctic sea ice could experience a complete melt-out by 2020. Accordingly, on May 10, 2013, President Barack Obama released the National Strategy for the Arctic Region, which outlines strategic priorities for the United States to ensure safety and stability in the changing Arctic landscape. Due to consistently receding sea ice in the […]
Personal Jurisdiction over Maritime Defendants: Daimler, Walden, and Rule 4(k)(2)
The United States Supreme Court’s recent decisions in two nonmaritime cases, Daimler AG v. Bauman and the unanimous Walden v. Fiore, have seriously limited a court’s ability to exercise personal jurisdiction over foreign and domestic maritime defendants. The reasons rest in the inherent nature of maritime business as interstate and interstate and international and the […]
How Limited Is “Limited Agency”? Lower Courts Rock the Boat By Broadly Applying the Supreme Court’s Narrow Kirby Guidelines for Interpreting Bills of Lading
Resisting the urge to comment on the first two significant holdings adopted in Kirby, this Article seeks illuminate the legal difficulties surrounding the application of the limited agency doctrine within the perceived boundaries of the Supreme Court’s framework. First, this article discusses the unique commercial relationships among entities involved in intercontinental transportation that have contributed […]
Buffering the Collision Between the Historical Protections for Seamen and the Increasing Use of International Arbitration Agreements
Today, virtually all seaman working for the cruise lines headquartered in the United States are employed under collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with either the Norwegian Seaman’s Union (NSU) or the Federazione Italiana Transporti (ITF). These unions are financed directly by the cruise lines and have often been criticized for not adequately representing the interests of […]
ITLOST? The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Sounds the Charge to Expand Coastal State Jurisdiction
Amid bunkering fishing vessels authorized to operate in Guinea-Bissau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the M/V Virginia G, a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker, was arrested for “the repeated practice of fishing related activities in the form of [the] unauthorized sale of fuel to ships fishing in [Guinea-Bissau’s] EEZ.” The VIRGINIA G was contracted by Empresa Balmar Pesquerias […]
The Rise of the Exoneration Clause: The Second Circuit Holds a Downstream Covenant Not To Sue Enforceable in Sompo Japan Insurance Co. of America v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co.
In the spring of 2006, a train carrying a range of manufactured good from East Asia, including tractors, automotive parts, and copy machines, derailed outside of Dallas, Texas. Much of the cargo was destroyed. Assigning liability in the wake of the derailment required untangling the web of intermodal carriage contracts governing the damaged shipments. Two […]
Change Is in the Air (and at Sea): The Fifth Circuit Redraws the Lines of Federal Authority over Investigation of Maritime Disasters in United States v. Transocean Deepwater Drilling, Inc.
United States v. Transocean Deepwater Drilling, Inc., came in the aftermath of one of the watershed maritime events of this quarter century. On April 20, 2010, Transocean’s DEEPWATER HORIZON, a mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU), was drilling the Macondo oil well in the Gulf of Mexico when a blowout, explosion, and fire occurred. Eleven people […]
Adrift at Sea in Search of the Proper Scope of the Penhallow Rule: D’Amico Dry Ltd. v. Primera Maritime (Hellas) Ltd.
Bulk carrier and panama operator D’Amico Dry Limited brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to enforce an English court’s judgment awarding D’Amico over $1.7 million on a contract claim against Primera Maritime (Hellas) Limited. Primera had failed to pay on a freight forwarding agreement (FFA) between […]