Tag: Vessel

• 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

  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 […]

• 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 […]