Tag: U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

• Maritime Casualty

  Seamen’s Recovery of Punitive Damages Against Non-Employer Third Parties

  • April 25, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  We previously reported  on the dispute whether Jones Act seamen can recover punitive damages under general maritime law against non-employer third parties.  District court opinions on this issue have differed, mostly due to conflicting interpretations of prior U.S. Supreme Court and U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions.   Hume v. Consolidated Grain & Barge, […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Fifth Circuit: LOIA Applies to Agreement to Salvage Platform

  • April 6, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  LOIA Voids Certain Oilfield Indemnity Provisions Louisiana’s Oilfield Indemnity Act (“LOIA”) may invalidate certain indemnity agreements in oilfield contracts. See La. R.S. 9:2780.  There is a two-part test to determine if LOIA applies:  (1) the agreement must pertain to an oil, gas, or water well, and (2) the contract must involve operations related to the […]

• Business Litigation

  Fifth Circuit Issues Warning for Lenders Seeking to Accelerate Loans in Default

  • April 4, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Recent case assesses when the statute of limitations/prescriptive period begins to run. There is an important warning for creditors hidden in dicta of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent ruling, Martin v. Federal National Mortgage Association, No. 15-41104 (5th Cir. Feb. 22, 2016) – accepting payment after accelerating a debt could waive the acceleration […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Bad Faith Claims in Mississippi Could Affect Other Jurisdictions

  • March 30, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Mississippi Bad Faith Claims Can Affect Employers and Carriers in Other jurisdictions With companies operating in multiple states, navigating interstate laws has become increasingly tricky. This is especially true in the worker’s compensation arena where an employer can be sued for benefits in its state of operation, the state where the injury occurred, or the […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Seamen May Be Exempt from FLSA Overtime Rules

  • March 28, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  Overtime Rules Under the FLSA The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires that some employees be paid at least “one and one-half times” their regular wages for time worked over 40 hours in a workweek. 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1). However, the FLSA has an exemption for employees who are classified as “seamen.”  29 U.S.C. § […]

• Maritime Casualty

  What Are Vessel “Appurtenances”?

  • March 14, 2016
  • By Alan Stewart

  Maritime cases often discuss vessels and their “appurtenances.” For example, a vessel owner can be held liable under the theory of unseaworthiness if the vessel’s appurtenances are defective.  Merriam-Webster defines “appurtenance” as “an object that is used with or for something.”  But what does the word mean under general maritime law, and how do we […]

• Employment Law & Litigation

  Title VII Pregnancy Bias Claim Requires More than Temporal Proximity

  • February 15, 2016
  • By Allen & Gooch

  The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision in Fairchild v. All American Check Cashing, Inc. that the employer had not violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Fairchild v. All American Check Cashing, […]

• Insurance & Casualty Litigation

  Statutorily Limiting Liability in Certain Vessel Lawsuits

  • January 27, 2016
  • By Alan Stewart

  Under the federal Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 (“the Act”), owners of vessels (and, occasionally, charterers of vessels) can sometimes limit their exposure in vessel-related cases to “the value of the vessel and pending freight.”  See 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq.  If a vessel has multiple owners, any owner’s liability will not exceed […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Fifth Circuit: Punitive Damages Not Available for Unseaworthiness

  • November 10, 2014
  • By Allen & Gooch
  

  Fifth Circuit Reverses Itself on Punitive Damages The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently released a 73-page opinion in the en banc rehearing of McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C., No. 12-30714 (5th Cir. Sept. 25, 2014).  As reported previously, the court originally ruled that seamen may be able to recover punitive damages for their employers’ […]

• Maritime Casualty

  Is Your Contract Governed By General Maritime Law?

  • June 13, 2014
  • By Alan Stewart
  

  In the absence of express provisions to the contrary, maritime contracts are to be governed by and interpreted under general maritime law.  In other words, contractual disputes will be resolved under maritime law (rather than state law) if the applicable contract is a maritime contract. Is the Contract Maritime in Nature? When determining whether a […]