Law Commons^™

Falling Stars And Sinking Ships: How Article Vii Of The Outer Space Treaty Needs Maritime Law, Mckenzie Franck

Pace International Law Review

The urge to go where no man has gone before has led to great leaps in space technology that only seemed real in cinema. As more private companies, such as private asteroid mining companies in China, attempt to take this leap, it has become clear that there are significant gaps in international space law regarding liability with private parties. Within Article VII of the Outer Space Treaty, there is a laid-out structure on how states can be held liable for damages caused by celestial bodies. However, the Outer Space Treaty ignores what happens if a private company causes injuries in …

Still On Patrol: An Argument For Greater Protections For Sunken American State Vessels In International And Foreign Coastal Waters, Sarah Elizabeth Catterson

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Quint, the surly captain from Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, is perhaps most famous for his soliloquy recounting the Indianapolis tragedy. The Indy, as she was called, sunk just under fifteen minutes after being hit by Japanese torpedoes in 1945 following her delivery of the components for the Hiroshima atomic bomb to the Pacific island of Tinian. It took the Navy five days to realize she was missing, by which point 600 of the 800 survivors had died from exposure or shark attacks. The Indy remained missing until she was found seventy-two years later by the Petrel, a …

Drilling For Admiralty: The Ocsla As A Bar To Maritime Law In Ocs Drilling Accidents, Christopher W. Sanborn

William & Mary Business Law Review

Maritime law is ultimately driven by commerce. The seas were—and continue to be—one of the easiest ways to transfer goods over large distances. Yet maritime commerce has a relative newcomer that is not shipping or transportation focused—offshore drilling. Should admiralty and maritime law, intended to protect seamen and keep ships engaged in maritime commerce apply to personal injury claims on drilling rigs on the Outer Continental Shelf? This Note argues that they should not apply for two reasons. In Lozman v. Riviera Beach, the Supreme Court announced that a “vessel” should appear to the reasonable observer as intended to carry …

Cruise Ship And Crime: How To Better Protect United States’ Citizens Who Are Victims Of Crime On The High Seas, Eda Harotounian

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nevor V. Moneypenny Holdings, Llc: Availability Of Prejudgment Interest For Mixed Maritime Law And Jones Act Claims, Adam S. Bohanan

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In maritime personal injury cases, courts have traditionally seen prejudgment interest as part of the compensation due to a prevailing plaintiff. The goal of ensuring the fullest compensation possible has long been recognized as a basic principle of admiralty law. However, federal appellate courts are split over whether to award prejudgment interest on a mixed claim under general maritime law and the Jones Act. This Note explores this issue in Nevor v. Moneypenny Holdings, LLC, which was the first time the question had been raised in the First Circuit. The Fifth and Sixth Circuits have held that because prejudgment interest …

Mandatory Arbitration Of Sexual Assaults In Maritime Law, Andrew Bratslavsky

St. Thomas Law Review

This Comment discusses the emergence of mandatory arbitration clauses in seafarer employment contracts, and how these clauses impact cases of sexual assault. Part II will trace the origin of arbitration, the history of seafarer rights and remedies, a Supreme Court decision that opened the door to arbitration of sexual assaults, and its progeny in the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, Parts III and IV will suggest solutions to address the issue presented in this Comment. With that in mind, this Comment does not aim to disparage or discredit arbitration at large. Arbitration, when mutually agreed to, can be an effective means of …

Doing Aweigh With Uncertainty: Navigating Jones Act Seamen’Sclaims Against Third Parties, Sara B. Kuebel

Louisiana Law Review

The article focuses on Jones Act as per which seaman may recover punitive damages from a third-party non-employer and law should afford seamen and non-seafarers the same protections under general maritime law against non-employer and protecting seamen as the wards of admiralty.

Lost At Sea: The Continuing Decline Of The Supreme Court In Admiralty, Michael Sevel

University of Miami Law Review

For the first 200 years of its history, the United States Supreme Court served as the primary leader in the development of, and its cases the primary source of, the admiralty and maritime law of the United States. That appears to be changing. The Court’s admiralty cases over the last quarter century indicate that it is slowly giving up its traditional leading role in creating and developing rules of admiralty law, and instead deferring to Congress to make those rules, a trend that is tantamount to abandoning its Article III constitutional duty to serve as the country’s only national admiralty …

A Sea Change In Creditor Priorities, Kristen Van De Biezenbos

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article argues that the operation of maritime law undermines a primary justification for creditor priorities under U.S. law. Under current law, when a debtor becomes insolvent, its secured creditors will be paid the full amount of their debt to the extent of their security interest, even if that leaves nothing to pay unsecured creditors. This is controversial with respect to involuntary unsecured creditors, particularly those with tort claims against the debtor. Defenders of this scheme of priorities have argued that allowing greater priority to involuntary creditors would hinder the availability or increase the cost of credit. However, involuntary creditors …

Book Review: Foundations Of Aviation Law, Ian Mcandrew

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This review provides insight on the content and a review of the quality of the recent release of Foundations of Aviation Law from Ashgate Publications.

This review does not reflect the views of IJAAA or ERAU. This work was not peer reviewed.

Some Reflections Over The Brussels Convention Of 1952 Relating To Arrest Of Sea-Going Vessels And Its Amending Process, Jose M. Alcantara

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Tarrification Of The Coastwise Trade Laws, Keith E. Diggs

Michigan Law Review

The coastwise trade laws prohibit foreign vessels and mariners from transporting goods or passengers between American ports. These anticompetitive laws punish American producers and consumers yet barely sustain a dwindling merchant marine. Every attempt to repeal the laws encounters insurmountable political resistance. Reformers of the coastwise trade laws, then, should instead try to convert the prohibition on foreign involvement into a tariff.

“To Comply Or Not To Comply?” An Argument In Favor Of Increasing Investigation And Enforcement Of Marpol Annex I Violations, Katriel Statman

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

The 1973 International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and the Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78) seek to protect the world’s oceans from environmental harms. Traditional maritime law, principles of international law, and difficulties in detecting violations of MARPOL 73/78 have made it difficult for nations to enforce the strict requirements regarding oil pollution under Annex I. In light of these difficulties, the United States authorities have used other means under United States law to prosecute these violations. This note argues that while the United States’ …

Piracy In The Courtroom: How To Salvage $500 Million In Sunken Treasure Without Making A Cent, Dave Werner

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

California V. Deep Sea Research: Leashing In The Eleventh Amendment To Keep Sinking Shipwreck Claims Afloat, Paul Neil

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Continuum Of International Maritime Law And Canadian Maritime Law: Explaining A Complex Relationship, Aldo Chircop, Sarah Shiels

Dalhousie Law Journal

This article discusses the relationship between international maritime law and Canadian maritime law from legislative and judicial perspectives. It explains the relationship through Canada's implementation of international maritime conventions and a study of Canadian case law The article concludes that the relationship has a well-developed pattern based on legislative structures and judicial processes. With strong historical roots and traditions, the relationship is motivated by international comity and has firm grounding in international and domestic public policyin support ofinternational uniformity to facilitate international commerce. Canadian maritime law has a unique heritage underscored by commercial necessity The consequence is a relationship between …

The Athens Convention And Limitation Of Liability In U.S. Federal Courts: While Communication Is Key, Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid, Angelica L. Boutwell

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.

Alone On A Wide Wide Sea: A National Security Rationale For Joining The Law Of The Sea Convention, James W. Houck

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs

In the face of twenty-first century challenges to military maritime mobility, the question persists as to whether customary international law will remain a reliable foundation for U.S. maritime security interests in the future. To date, the U.S. has successfully conducted military operations sanctioned by the customary high seas freedoms of free navigation and overflight. However, with technological advances and heightened environmental and defense concerns, countries with coastal state interests may demand greater control over their near-shore waters, requiring the U.S. to reconsider its position outside the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This article addresses pertinent …

Death At Sea: A Sad Tale Of Disaster, Injustice, And Unnecessary Risk, Thomas C. Galligan Jr.

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Admiralty Law - Are Seamen Still The "Wards Of Admiralty"? Sutton V. Earles: Ninth Circuit Extends Loss Of Society Damages To Non-Dependent Parents Of Non-Seamen In Maritime Wrongful Death Action, Arthur F. Mead Ill

Golden Gate University Law Review

This comment compares the Ninth Circuit's holding with the approaches other courts have taken regarding loss of society damages and the dependency rule for awarding such recovery in maritime wrongful death actions. This comment concludes that, although the Ninth Circuit's decision was an empathetic attempt at developing the law of maritime damages, the holding's glaring conflict with the spirit of the maritime remedial statutory scheme is exemplary of a growing problem in maritime law. Specifically, as judges struggle to keep the rules of admiralty current with common law developments outside the maritime context, the separation of judge-made doctrine from Congressional …

Admiralty Law, Lyle C. Cavin Jr., Esq., Philip A. Rush

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Supremacy Of United States (Maritime) Law Revisited, Andrew Brown

Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Cleaning Up Punitive Damages: A Statutory Solution For Unguided Punitive-Damages Awards In Maritime Cases, Richard A. Chastain

Vanderbilt Law Review

Intentionally destroying property-boundary markers by sawing down the posts.' Causing environmental disasters. Fraudulently refusing to settle insurance claims within coverage limits. Bad-faith dealing in big oil contracts. Hiding mild weather damage to new vehicles. Creating and marketing cigarettes while knowing about their carcinogenic risks. Contributing to automobile accidents. No, these are not items on some nefarious villain's to-do list. These are all examples of cases where courts have awarded punitive damages against the tortfeasors on top of their compensatory liability. While each tort is unquestionably wrong, some certainly appear more wrong than others.

In recent years, punitive damages have become …

Punitive Damages In U.S. Maritime Law: Miles, Baker, And Townsend, David W. Robertson

Louisiana Law Review

No abstract provided.

Uncharted Waters: The Supreme Court Plots The Course To A Constitutional Bright-Line Restriction On Punitive Awards In Exxon Shipping Co. V. Baker, Michael L. Brooks

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Sea Of Confusion: The Shipowner's Limitation Of Liability Act As An Independent Basis For Admiralty Jurisdiction, Amie L. Medley

Michigan Law Review

The Shipowner's Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 allowed the owner of a vessel to limit his liability in the case of an accident to the value of the vessel and its cargo if he could show he had no knowledge of or participation in the negligent act that resulted in the loss. In 1911, the Supreme Court decided Richardson v. Harmon, a case which was interpreted for several decades to hold that the Limitation Act formed an independent basis for admiralty jurisdiction. In a 1990 case, the Supreme Court stated in a footnote that it would not reach …

The Resurgence Of Piracy: A Phenomenon Of Modern Times, Helmut Tuerk

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Retrogressive Flaw Of Chapter 15 Of The Bankruptcy Code: A Lesson From Maritime Law, John J. Chung

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

No abstract provided.

Maritime Law, George Strathy

Dalhousie Law Journal

This substantial work. written by three members of the faculty of the Marine and Environmental Law Institute at Dalhousie University, is part of the Irwin Law, Essentials of Canadian Law series. Running to just over 800 pages of text, it covers the waterfront, so to speak, of its subject matter. An indication of the scope of the text is reflected in the division of labour among the three authors. They co-authored an introductory chapter and each took responsibility for writing different chapters of the rest of the book. Edgar Gold, a former ship captain and a Master Mariner, has been …

The 1851 Shipowners' Limitation Of Liability Act: Should The Courts Deliver The Final Blow?, Mark A. White

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This comment identifies the 1851 Shipowners' Limitation of Liability Act as an enduring problem within federal maritime law and suggests that the courts may be able to exercise their powers of judicial review to strike it down. The Act was initially adopted at a time when American shipowners were in dire need of protection from potentially ruinous lawsuits. The Act, although hastily drawn, was imperative to the growth of the fledgling American shipping industry. By the end of the nineteenth century, however, numerous forms of liability insurance had been created and America saw the advent of the corporate form. These …