In Dutra v. Batterton, No. 18-266, the Supreme Court of the United States, on June 24, 2019, determined that punitive damages are not allowed for injured vessel crew members seeking remedies for vessel unseaworthiness. In addressing a split between the Ninth Circuit on one hand and the First, Fifth, and Eleventh Circuits on the
Miles v. Apex Marine Corp
UPDATE: Punitive Damages for Jones Act Seamen are not “Pining for the Fjords, they’re Dead”!
By James D. Bercaw on
Posted in Jones Act
On September 25, 2014, the en banc Fifth Circuit, in McBride v. Estis Well Serv., L.L.C., No. 12-30714 (5th Cir. Sept. 25, 2014), concluded in a brief opinion that the Supreme Court’s decision of Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19 (1990), and its limitation on recovery to pecuniary damages, precluded Jones…