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Admiralty Law, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, as well as District Courts within the Circuit, issued in 2023. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner,

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, as well as district courts within the Eleventh Circuit, issued in 2022. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions during that timeframe, the Author identifies and provides summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Waiving Goodbye To Oil Spill Claims Against The United States: The Eleventh Circuit Creates A Narrow Exception To The Sovereign Immunity Waiver In The Suits In Admiralty Act Of 1920, Anika Akbar

Mercer Law Review

Costs related to oil spills can be extraordinary. Excluding the damage to the environment and to the vessel alone, a responsible party may incur containment costs, clean-up costs, cost of repairing public infrastructures, and fines and fees for causing the spill. Additionally, the owner of the spilling vessel also risks liability for lost profits to other businesses in the surrounding areas, including those that can no longer fish in the affected area. ...

On September 8, 2019, the M/V Savage Voyager (the Vessel) was pushing two tank barges laden with oil along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (the Waterway) when it approached …

The Eleventh Circuit Is The Captain Now: The Discovery Of A Lost Sixteenth-Century French Royal Navy Shipwreck Sails France Into Litigation, Kirsten Ehlers

Mercer Law Review

X marks the spot! The quest of uncovering historic shipwrecks that were lost at sea and recovering their treasures seemed like an exciting movie script until a sixteenth-century shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2016. That finding later caught the attention of the Republic of France (France) when Global Marine Exploration, Inc. (GME) attempted to salvage the shipwreck France believed to be its sovereign property. That ship was the flagship of the 1565 Royal Navy of France Fleet, la Trinité.

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, as well as district courts within the Circuit, issued in 2021. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions during that timeframe, the Author identifies and provides summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, as well as district courts within the Circuit, issued in 2020. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued in 2018 and 2019. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions from the court during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key cases which should be of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued in 2016 and 2017. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions from the court during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key rulings of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Admiralty, John P. Kavanagh Jr.

Mercer Law Review

The cases discussed herein represent decisions the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued in 2014 and 2015. While not an all-inclusive list of maritime decisions from the court during that timeframe, the Author identified and provided summaries of key decisions which should be of interest to the maritime practitioner.

Admiralty, Colin A. Mcrae, Edgar M. Smith, Kate C. Lawson

Mercer Law Review

I. APPELLATE ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION

II. SEAFARER ARBITRATION CLAUSES

III. CRUISE SHIP'S DUTY TO WARN

IV. FORUM SELECTION CLAUSES IN CRUISE SHIP TICKETS

V. CONTRACTUAL STATUTE OF LIMITATION IN CRUISE SHIP TICKETS

VI. MARITIME PERSONAL INJURY

VII. MARITIME ATTACHMENT

VIII. LONGSHORE AND HARBOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT

IX. SEAMAN STATUS UNDER THE JONES ACT

X. MARITIME JURISDICTION

XI. SALVAGE

Admiralty, Colin A. Mcrae, Edgar M. Smith

Mercer Law Review

No abstract provided.

Admiralty, Colin A. Mcrae, Jessica L. Mcclellan

Mercer Law Review

The United States Supreme Court and Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals were busy in 2007 with admiralty cases and other matters of importance to maritime practitioners. The Supreme Court considered two punitive damages cases with maritime implications and reviewed a case under the Federal Employers' Liability Act with potential bearing on Jones Act jurisprudence. The Supreme Court also clarified an important procedural issue concerning the application of the forum non conveniens doctrine, which often arises in maritime cases. The Eleventh Circuit continued its trend of tackling important maritime questions by issuing opinions on (1) the interplay between the Seaman's Wage …

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae, Jessica L. Mcclellan

Mercer Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit's admiralty docket was not particularly active this year, perhaps reflecting the state of the maritime practice. Interestingly, it was a good year for district court judges in the circuit, as the Eleventh Circuit affirmed nearly all of the lower courts' maritime decisions in the context of sovereign immunity, maritime statutes of limitation, jurisdiction, international carrier bonds, limitation of liability, allision, maritime liens, choice of law, and pollution.

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae, Jessica L. Mcclellan

Mercer Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down eight published opinions during the 2005 calendar year that dealt distinctively with admiralty issues. The cases represented a broad spectrum of traditional maritime issues, as the court issued opinions on such varied topics as salvage, admiralty practice and procedure, limitation of liability, the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, marine insurance, the Vessel Hull Design Protection Act, and the doctrine of forum non conveniens. With this diverse range of topics covered in its 2005 opinions, the Eleventh Circuit remains one of this country's most important admiralty circuits.

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae, Jessica L. Mcclellan

Mercer Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals presented practitioners of maritime law with important new admiralty case law in 2004. Although the Eleventh Circuit published only four admiralty opinions in 2004, the United States Supreme Court handed down two decisions in the areas of cargo and longshore law that will have a far-reaching impact on maritime law. The Eleventh Circuit dealt with two passenger cruise line cases and a salvage dispute, both of which serve as the subject of considerable litigation in the Eleventh Circuit. In addition, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down an important decision involving the enforcement …

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae, Jessica L. Mcclellan

Mercer Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down ten opinions distinctly concerning admiralty issues during the 2003 calendar year. The topics covered in these cases varied from the traditional maritime issues of allision, cargo, contribution, and admiralty jurisdiction, to the less common maritime fields of criminal law and state sovereign immunity. With ten admiralty opinions in 2003, the Eleventh Circuit has maintained its status as one of the busiest admiralty circuits.

Admiralty, Robert S. Glenn Jr., Colin A. Mcrae

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided fourteen admiralty cases with written opinions in 2000. These cases can generally be divided into three broad categories: (1) cases involving the interpretation of federal statutes such as The Americans with Disabilities Act, ("ADA"), the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act ("FSIA"), the Suits in Admiralty Act ("SAA"), The Carriage of Goods By Sea Act ("COGSA"), and the Federal Maritime Lien Act ("FMLA"); (2) cases involving the interplay of admiralty law and state law in suits involving claims for attorney fees, the application of laches, and marine insurance issues; and (3) cases involving …

Admiralty Law, George M. Earle

Mercer Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals published six admiralty opinions in 1999. The court faced one issue of first impression, but otherwise applied existing case law to decide the cases before it. In the case presenting the issue of first impression, the court joined the Fifth Circuit in holding that an ocean carrier's unreasonable deviation does not nullify the one-year statute of limitation for filing suit under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act. The cases decided with reference to existing law included two cases involving maritime liens, one case addressing appellate jurisdiction, one case addressing personal jurisdiction, and one …

Admiralty Law, Robert S. Glenn Jr., George M. Earle, Marc G. Marling

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided nine admiralty cases with written opinions in 1998. With one exception, these cases did not involve issues of first impression. They instead fell into the following categories: cases that were decided with reference to existing law; a case in which the court's decision put it at odds with the holding of other circuit courts; a case in which the court's holding continued an expansive trend in maritime law; and a case of first impression involving important constitutional issues.

The cases that were decided with reference to existing law were three admiralty …

Admiralty, Thomas S. Rue

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided fourteen admiralty cases with written opinions in 1996. Four of the decided cases involved issues of first impression. Of the cases involving issues of first impression, one considered the tension between a shipowner's right to a nonjury trial in admiralty of its right to limitation of liability and the damage claimants' right to a jury trial in a forum of their choice. In that case, the Eleventh Circuit allowed a multiple-claims-inadequatefund case to be transformed into the functional equivalent of a single claim case, thereby creating another exception to the shipowner's …

Admiralty, Thomas S. Rue

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided eight admiralty cases with written opinions in 1995. Five of the decided cases involved issues of first impression. One case considered whether appellate review may be exercised over a stay order favoring arbitration after the stayed action is dismissed for failure to arbitrate as ordered. Two cargo cases dealt with issues of first impression. One case involved two issues of first impression: whether the carrier's failure to deliver the goods on a sight draft basis constituted a misdelivery and whether a misdelivery amounted to a deviation causing the loss of the …

Admiralty, Thomas S. Rue

Mercer Law Review

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided nine admiralty cases with written opinions in 1994. In one case the court faced for the first time the issue of whether a vessel on dry dock was on land or water for purposes of admiralty jurisdiction. In another case the court interpreted, for the first time, a statute concerning marine sanctuaries. The other seven cases did not change the law as it exists in this circuit. This was the case despite a factually attractive opportunity to relax the court's requirement that a shipper literally comply with the procedures set forth …

Admiralty, Roy E. Paul, Grace W. Shelton

Mercer Law Review

The Mercer Law Review last surveyed admiralty in its 1990 summer edition. Consistent with the last five articles on this topic, this survey does not attempt to include all opinions that touch on admiralty and maritime practice. Instead, this survey will focus on significant decisions that reflect some real change in, or explication of, existing law in certain specific categories. The present survey begins with cases dealing with issues of maritime jurisdiction and procedure. The Article then turns to recent developments relating to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act ("COGSA") and to personal injury actions. The Article next addresses …

Admiralty, David F. Sipple

Mercer Law Review

During this survey period, the Fifth Circuit interpreted important principles of maritime law. The circuit continued to remain active in the controversial and very fluid area of the maritime law relating to damages available to wrongful death beneficiaries. The appeals court answered a question left open in the en banc opinion in Ivy v. Security Barge Lines, Inc., by subsequently holding that, when a seaman's death in state territorial waters is caused by unseaworthiness, the survivors of the seaman may recover damages for loss of society under the general maritime law in addition to any recovery available under the …

Admiralty, George H. Chamlee

Mercer Law Review

A commentator recently had the temerity to suggest that the reasons for the existence of admiralty law and the admiralty jurisdiction as a separate system of jurisprudence "are not immediately apparent." Certainly the survival of admiralty as a largely unique body of law serving the needs of a single industry must be considered remarkable in this era of judicial reform and modernization. Admiralty is one of the few areas of legal specialization still left where law can frequently be justified on the basis of history rather than reason.

If the work of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is any …

Jurisdiction, Shipowner Negligence And Stevedore Immunities Under The 1972 Amendments To The Longshoremen's Act, David W. Robertson

Mercer Law Review

Prior to major changes effective November 27, 1972,' the jurisprudence under the 1927 Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act 2 had developed a well-defined system for dealing with injuries to employees covered by that statute. Three entities are routinely involved in such injuries: the vessel in connection with which the victim was working at the time of his injury; the independent contractor hired by the vessel to load, unload, repair, or perform some other service to the vessel; and the injury victim himself, who is an employee of the independent contractor. It is customary to refer to these three entities …

Admiralty, George H. Chamlee

Mercer Law Review

Cases decided by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals during calendar year 1975 which involved admiralty and maritime claims embrace a colorful variety of fact situations but establish few benchmark principles of marine law. One very important case was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court during the survey period, United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., in which was laid to rest one of the unique doctrines of American admiralty law, the rule of dividend damages. Surprisingly, the Fifth Circuit handed down no decisions which provided any meaningful guidance to the proper interpretation of the 1972 amendments to the Longshoremen's …

Admiralty--Divided Damages Rules Replaced By Proportionate Fault In Maritime Collision Or Standing Cases, Margaret Leslie Cooper

Mercer Law Review

In United States v. Reliable Transfer Co., the Supreme Court of the United States was presented with the issue of the continued validity of the rule of equally divided damages in admiralty. The Court rejected the rule and adopted a proportional fault rule for property damage in maritime collision or stranding cases.3 It was held that when two or more parties have contributed by their fault to cause a maritime collision or stranding, liability for damage resulting therefrom shall be allocated proportionately to the comparative degree of fault of each party, except in cases where it is not possible …