In NuStar Energy Services, Inc. v. M/V COSCO AUCKLAND, No. 17-20246 (5th Cir. Jan. 14, 2019), the U.S. Fifth Circuit concluded NuStar, the physical supplier of bunkers/marine fuel to the M/V COSCO AUCKLAND, lacked standing to appeal the district court’s ruling that O.W. Bunker Far East (S) Pte Ltd., the contract supplier of
The LHWCA’s §933(g) Requirement of Notification is to be Strictly Enforced
On September 11, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in the matter of McGill C. Parfait v. Director, OWCP, Performance Energy Services LLC and Signal Mutual Indemnity Association Ltd., No. 16-60662, granted the respondents’ motion to dismiss Mr. McGill’s Petition for Review based upon the petitioner’s non-compliance with 33 USC
Fifth Circuit Holds Contract for Plug and Abandonment Work Qualifies as “Maritime” Under the Doiron Test
This past January, the Fifth Circuit in In re: Larry Doiron, Inc., 879 F. 3d 568 (5th Cir. 2018), overruled the six-factor test it had distilled in Davis & Sons v. Gulf Oil Corp. to determine whether a contract is maritime or non-martime, and adopted a simplified two-part analysis, based on the United States
More Energy Service Contracts Should Now Qualify as Maritime
As anticipated previously, the en banc Fifth Circuit in In re Larry Doiron, Inc., jettisoned the two-tier, six-factor test of Davis & Sons, Inc. v. Gulf Oil Corp. in favor of a new “simplified” test to determine whether “a contract for the performance of specialty services to facilitate the drilling or production of
“Last Employer Rule” in Occupational Disease Addressed by Fifth Circuit
On May 17, 2017, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rendered a decision affirming an Administrative Law Judge’s decision in Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., et al. v. Director, OWCP, et al., No. 16-60370. This matter arose as a claim filed under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 USC
Takeaways from the 2017 Annual Longshore Conference
The 2017 Annual Longshore Conference was held last week at the Intercontinental Hotel in New Orleans. The annual conference, which is presented by Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Labor, is a two-day program/CLE for maritime practitioners and industry professionals handling claims arising under the Longshore and
Fifth Circuit Affirms Use of Special Jury Interrogatory on Whether an Accident Occurred
In defending personal injury claims, defendants frequently have to deal with jury interrogatories that infer the plaintiff actually experienced an incident that caused or contributed to his complaints, despite there being a question as to whether an incident occurred. For example, the first question the jury often is asked to answer is a variant of
Does the Maritime Collateral-Source Rule Allow Recovery of Amount Billed or Paid?
The Fifth Circuit issued an opinion on November 17, 2016, in Robert Deperrodil v. Bozovic Marine, Inc., (No. 16-30009). In a case involving the injury to a passenger aboard a crew boat in high seas, the District Court was called upon to determine whether under the collateral-source rule the plaintiff could recover $186,080.30, which
OCSLA Coverage for Land Injuries Has Limits
James Baker, Jr. v. Director, OWCP; Gulf Island Marine Fabricators, LLC, U.S. Fifth Circuit No. 15-60634 (August 19, 2016). In this case the Court of Appeals affirmed the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) determination that Mr. Baker, an employee of Gulf Island Marine Fabricators, LLC (Gulf Island) did not qualify for benefits under the
Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Preventing the Application of the Section 20(a) Presumption with Surveillance
The recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Bis Salamis, Inc. v. Director, OWCP (Joseph Meeks), No. 15-60148 (March 17, 2016), highlights how the defense to a claim under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, 33 USC 901 et.seq. (LHWCA), can have a tortured journey through the