Full Disclosure: I like the beach.
Ironic that on the day the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a Florida Supreme Court's decision to regarding a beachfront property owner's property rights (see Robert Thomas' comprehensive coverage of the case and our amicus brief here), I come across an article regarding Hawaii's [...]
First shark feeding and now aquarium fish, Maui County is on a tear to regulate ocean activities.
Per the Maui News, a bill has been introduced to regulate the harvest of reef fish. Per the article:
Molina's bill would do the following to require the humane treatment of aquarium fish:
* Prohibit [...]
The New York Appellate Division recently issued a decision interpreting the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LWHCA), particularly 33 U.S.C. s. 905(b) and the preemptive effect of that act on state law claims. The decision is here and the case is entitled Lee v. Astoria Generating Company, L.P.
The facts are' [...]
Another Amicus brief has been filed supporting the Petitioner in the McDonald v. City of Chicago case, resource page here. The Cato Institute and Pacific Legal Foundation filed a brief here.
Their conclusion sums up their position well:
The Slaughter-House Cases was wrong when it was decided. It ignored the fundamental change [...]
Please excuse my divergence from this blog's typical fare, but this is an important Constitutional case which turns on the interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Most will consider this a gun rights case, and it is, but the legal theory behind why it is a gun rights case is more [...]
SCOTUSBLOG has published its analysis of the issues in the Florida beach renourishment/judicial takings case. Its post is here. My partner, Robert Thomas, has a resource page here. The oral arguments will be on December 2, 2009.
Per SCOTUSBLOG:
Should the court find that a judicial taking occurred, several [...]
I had earlier posted about the McDonald v. City of Chicago case, here, and its impact on the Constitution's Privileges or Immunities clause.
I see that Pacific Legal Foundation has a post on the case. Charley Foster, from Planet Kauai, has a post here.
More to follow for sure.
[...]Please excuse the off-topic blog post, but I am a lawyer and this case needs to be discussed.
The Supreme Court is hearing the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago which most commentators will consider a gun rights case. Specifically, whether individuals have a Constitutional right to bear arms that [...]
The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just issued a decision relating to longshoreman negligence claims made against third parties and the insurance coverage of those claims. The decision is unpublished but is available for download here.
In Bayou Steel Corp. v. Evanston Insurance Co., a stevedore was injured [...]
The Danger Zone. (And, no not Planet Patrol's Danger Zone or the more familiar Kenny Loggin's Danger Zone). For the past several years, the Army Corps of Engineers has attempted to change the boundaries of the danger zone in the ocean waters off the U.S. Marine Corps base at [...]
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the Kawasaki case regarding "through" bills of lading and the interplay between the federal statutes governing cargo shipped by rail vs. cargo shipped by sea. My earlier post explaining the lower court decision is here. The Supreme Court order granting certiorari is [...]
Well, it was last week, but who is counting.
Two years ago, following the very successful model of my partner Robert Thomas, I decided to become a blogger. Nearly 300 posts later, with topics ranging from Somali piracy, SONAR and whales, to Antarctic whaling and forum non conveniens, I [...]
The Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an appeal fo the Ninth Circuit's decision in Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha v. Regal Beloit Corporation and Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Regal-Beloit Corporation. The issue before the court is to what extent do statutory rules governing shipments by rail or motor carrier apply [...]
Admiralty practitioners note: Winter Storm has been overturned. A panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals issued this noteworthy decision today, with the consent of all active judges for that circuit. Decision here. Everyone else can stop reading now.
This issue relates to Rule B attachment under the [...]
Several Hawaii residents and businesses have brought suit against the federal government challenging the constitutionality of the "Jones Act." The complaint can be downloaded here.
The suit notes that because the Jones Act requires cargo to be transported on U.S. flagged ships between U.S. ports, Hawaii residents pay more for [...]
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a decision relating to a scuba-related death in Mexico. The decision is Loya v. Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and can be downloaded here.
Facts: the plaintiff's husband died during a scuba trip in the waters off the Baja peninsula, [...]
This afternoon, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force will hold a regional meeting in Honolulu at 1:30. I will attend and will live-tweet at twitter.com/hawaiioceanlaw.
Per the Council of Environmental Quality, the Task Force's purpose is:
To engage the public in and take public comment on the work of the Ocean [...]
Please excuse a departure from my regular blog topics for this post.
Last February, I was fortunate to attend a private screening of an upcoming film entitled, Barbarian Princess. The movie was so well done, I feel compelled to publish my praise for the cinematic achievement.
My general comments: this movie [...]
The Ocean Policy Task Force will hold a meeting in Honolulu on September 29, 2009. The Coast Guard flyer has specifics.
Obama Administration officials will hold an Ocean Policy Task Force PublicMeeting in the Pacific Islands on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.
The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by White [...]
Checking my feeds and found a blast from the past. Not sure who on earth would have had this video.
Summer 1989. The Coast Guard's training ship, Barque Eagle, paid a first-ever port call to the city of Leningrad. On the eve of the end of the Cold War, such port [...]
The Wall Street Journal's blog reports on a interesting new lawsuit filed in federal court in Mississippi. The complaint is here.
In the suit, five residents of different states challenge the current cap of Representatives in the House of Representatives at 435. The suit alleges that by capping the number of [...]
The City and County of Honolulu is considering a bill that would ban shark tour operations, at least the shoreside businesses related to such operations. The text of the bill provides:
SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. The council finds that the oceans are used by city residents and visitors for numerous [...]
The Ninth Circuit just published an opinion relating to the Jones Act and a worker injured while conducting a "free dive" incident to the employer's vessel operations.
The case is MacDonald v. Kahikolu, Ltd., No. 08-15239, download here.
In MacDonald, a vessel employee was injured while "free diving" to support anchoring [...]
Today, Robert Thomas, Tred Eyerly and I filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Owners' Counsel of America supporting the Petitioner in the Florida Shoreline Case.
Our brief is here.
The Questions Presented to the U.S. Supreme Court is:
The Florida Supreme Court invoked "nonexistent rules of'" [...]
Ah, the Limitation Act, 46 U.S.C. s 30501. Roughly digested, it provides a cap or limit on the damages a tortfeasor faces for maritime wrongs. The limit is set, by statute, as the value of the vessel plus freight. The typical tort scenario is: maritime injury occurs, victim files [...]
The U.S. Coast Guard is about to publish proposed regulations pertaining to ballast water handling in U.S. waters. The official publication happens tomorrow, but the rule can be downloaded here (it is 180 pages, so be warned before printing). This action is entitled a Notice of Proposed Rule Making or [...]
A federal court in Seattle has dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought against Matson Navigation Company and Horizon Lines, LLC.
I have obtained the decision which can be downloaded here. The case is In Re Hawaiian & Guamanian Cabotage Antitrust Litigation, No. 08-md-1972 TSZ.
This case is interesting on several [...]
My thumbs are still sore from the live tweet of the Maui voting case heard last week by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Follow the above link to www.inversecondemnation.com to see pleadings and other materials.
The official recording is available on the Hawaii Supreme Court's website here.
[...]The Hawaii Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments this morning in the case of Dupree v. Hiraga. Briefs and other materials over at www.inversecondemnation.com, post here.
I'll be live-tweeting the argument, albeit on my iPhone (excuse the typos). Follow me at twitter.com/hawaiioceanlaw.
FULL DISCLOSURE: My firm represents one of the' [...]
The State of Hawaii turns 50 this week. Owing to looming budget shortfalls in the State's budget, celebrations seem scarce around town. This fact is not lost on the Editors of the New York Times who published an editorial today discussing the relative lack of celebration planned for this [...]
The Petitioner has filed merits brief in the Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Dep't of Environmental Protection, No. 08-11 (cert. granted. June 15, 2009). The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal from the Florida Supreme Court regarding the uncompensated taking of beach lands.
My partner, and fellow blogger,
Today, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a Washington federal court's summary judgment in favor of the Navy in a Freedom of Information Act case.
The Plaintiff submitted a FOIA request for government records relating to the Naval Magazine at Indian Island in Puget Sound. The Navy disclosed about 1000 pages of records [...]
From the Maui News: Wow -that was fast, the County Council Economic Development, Agriculture and Recreation Committee approved the proposed ban on shark tours (really a ban on land based activities related to shark tours.
We'll see what the full Council and Mayor have to say about the proposed' [...]
A bill has been introduced to amend CERCLA to provide grants for the revitalization of waterfront brownfields areas. Hat tip to Captain Bryant for his post.
Bill can be downloaded here.
The bill authorizes grants for redevelopment of brownfields areas in the waterfront area. The program will be spearheaded by [...]
Hawaii's Intermediate Court of Appeals just issued a memorandum decision (not published in a bound reporter) regarding Hawaii's Information Practices Law and the availability of attorney's fees to litigants. The underlying case involved runoff into the ocean, but those issues weren't germane to the decision.
The L.A. Times is reporting the death of an aviation pioneer in the Coast Guard, retired Captain Bobby Wilks, USCG.
While the news reports recount some of his more daring rescues, he is also notable for his status as the first African-American officer to make the rank of Captain, the [...]
The County of Maui is considering a bill purporting to ban shark tours. KITV reported the story here.
I pulled the bill from Maui County's website.
The text is short, so I have reproduced below:
SECTION 1. Findings and purpose. The Council finds that sharks have been revered throughout Hawaiian history; [...]
An interesting (if you are a civil procedure wonk), and lengthy, admiralty decision was just published by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
I'm still digesting the opinion in Cooper v. Meridian Yachts, Ltd. From my initial skim, the court ruled that the choice of law provision applied to third-party equitable claims. More to' [...]
The Maui News reports that a settlement is near in the litigation related to reef damage near Makena.
Per the article, the State Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing to reduce the fine sought from a Maui tour boat operator from $542,950 to $130,000. The Board of Land and Natural [...]
The Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, based in New York, has recently decided a case which clarifies the plaintiff's burden of proof in allision cases. An allision is a collision between a moving object and a stationary object.
In the case of Zerega Avenue Realty Corp. v. Hornbeck [...]
Not related to the law, but this sure seems to be a good case study in afloat operations, military and civilian.
The Honolulu Advertiser has published details about the Navy's Safety Investigation Board Report into the grounding of the USS Port Royal. My earlier post on the Port Royal incident, [...]
Captain Bryant has a great post on three recent Coast Guard Port Security Advisories related to defending U.S. flagged, commercial vessels from the threat of piracy. The three advisories are available for download at his blog.
From the Coast Guard's advisory:
Working with our interagency partners we have identified at least [...]
Exxon Valdez litigation update:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, on remand following the Supreme Court's decision limited punitive damages to 1-1 ratio with compensatory damages, awarded post-judgment interest to the Plaintiffs in the amount of $507.5 million. Decision posted here.
But, per SCOTUSBLOG, Exxon has sought rehearing en banc, with [...]
The Maui News has a good article recounting one owner's experience with coming up with a solution to the erosion of his oceanfront land that would accomplish his objective (i.e. land preservation) and be palatable to governmental officials.
Seawalls, and efforts to address the often competing interests of property owners [...]
Per news releases and reports, the County of Kauai brought suit against a vessel operator to enjoin passenger loading operations in the Hanalei River. The County asserts that the operator must obtain a Special Management Area permit from the Planning Commission. Hat tip to Kauai blogger Charley Foster for [...]
The Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Thomas, has held that punitive damages are allowable for seaman's maintenance and cure claims, despite the argument that the Jones Act remedies (which don't include punitive damages) are exclusive. The case is Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc. v. Townsend and the opinion is
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an apeal from the Florida Supreme Court regarding the uncompensated taking of beach lands. My partner, and fellow blogger, Robert Thomas, has created a resource page that is more comprehensive than any internet resource on Stop the Beachfront Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida [...]
Marten Law Group has a very comprehensive post on the Clean Water Act amendments pending before Congress.
The post tracks the development of statutory amendments to the Clean Water Act, specifically to address the jurisdictional issues raised and highlighted by the Rapanos decision. As the Marten Law post notes, this issue [...]
