Vitol S.A. v. Primerose Shipping Co. Ltd. A district court had admiralty jurisdiction to consider the appeal of a ship charterer’s attempt to collect on a judgment against the ship’s owner by attaching a vessel docked at Baltimore, but the 4th Circuit upholds the district court’s decision to vacate its ex parte order of attachment and dismiss the ship charterer’s complaint based on an alter ego theory.
Aggarao v. MOL Ship Mgmt. Co. Ltd. A Filipino seaman who suffered devastating injuries while working aboard the Asian Spirit vessel in the Chesapeake Bay near Baltimore must arbitrate his claims against the vessel owner and additional defendants; the 4th Circuit affirms the arbitration decision but vacates the dismissal of the case and remands for reinstatement and consideration of the injunction request and entry of a stay pending arbitration.
Holloway v. Pagan River Dockside Seafood Inc. Invoking the Supreme Court’s warning against “drive-by jurisdictional rulings,” the 4th Circuit sorts out the differences between motions under 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) and reverses the district court’s dismissal of a Jones Act claim, saying plaintiff’s allegation of injury to his hand from a dockside conveyor belt stated a Jones Act claim.
F.C. Wheat Maritime Corp. v. U.S. When the captain of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers vessel fell asleep at the wheel and struck plaintiff’s 70-foot yacht, the Marquessa, docked at the pier at Ocean Marine marina in Portsmouth, the yacht was a constructive total loss based on two of three opinions in this battle of the experts, and the 4th Circuit affirms a $440,000 damage award for the fair market value of the ship at the time of loss.
In the Matter of the Complaint of Vulcan Materials Co. v. Massiah v. U.S. In this appeal of a $1.25 million wrongful death award against Vulcan Materials Company in a suit in admiralty after the death of a 19-year-old seaman when his rigid-hull inflatable boat collided with a tug during a Navy training exercise on the James River, the 4th Circuit affirms the district court award to the seaman's family members and its decision that the U.S. can't be held liable for contribution.
Vessel Collision - Chinese Waters - Forum Non Conveniens
Diversity Jurisdiction - Injured Seaman
Negligence - Ship- Dredge Pipeline Allision - Comparative Fault
COGSA - Cargo Damage - Aircraft Loaders
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