In late March 2019, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dutra Group v. Batterton, a case that turns on whether the general maritime law precludes a seaman from recovering punitive damages under an unseaworthiness claim for injuries sustained while working on a vessel. While the Supreme Court’s imminent (at the time of this writing) decision is likely to resolve a circuit court split on this issue, it could create an ocean of uncertainty for vessel owners, their customers and insurers on how to best defend a claim asserting Jones Act and general maritime law remedies.

If a seaman suffers injury due to an unsafe condition aboard a vessel, the seaman may pursue a Jones Act negligence claim against his employer for not providing a reasonably safe place to work or an unseaworthiness claim against the vessel owner for a vessel that is not reasonably fit for its intended use. Unseaworthiness is a strict liability claim that imposes liability even if the vessel owner had no knowledge of the unseaworthy condition.

This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.

To view this content, please continue to their sites.

Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now

Why am I seeing this?

LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.

For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]