The Salty Barrister

Alright, settle down. I know you've been waiting to learn all about the Jones Act, but we don't offer that kind of information. We're like a chart in a brochure that gives you some orientation, points out a few prominent features and makes you want to buy the NOAA Chart. Still, that doesn't mean we can't give you some walking around knowledge . . .

First off, remember that the maritime law generally affords special or different protections to crew members. For instance, the Jones Act gives seamen the right to sue for monetary damages arising from personal injuries caused by an employer. The Jones Act was adopted in 1920 and prior to that date a crewmember could only recover against an employer if it could be shown the vessel was unseaworthy.

Now, you're no doubt wondering, how does the Jones Act define "seaman" and my response is that Congress left for lunch during that portion of legislative activity because it's undefined. Yup, case law has been left to navigate these narrows leaving, as you can well imagine, a rich history.

In short, whether or not you qualify as a seaman is a fact-driven inquiry which focuses on the circumstances of your employment. Contribution to the function of a vessel in navigation that is both substantial in terms of duration and nature is the typical focus of any examining court. Duration of employment and the nature of the employee's activities are prime considerations.

Seaman status is not a snapshot kind of thing. In other words, the relationship is viewed from a more long-term perspective such that the fellow who's aboard for the afternoon to fix the electronics is not likely to obtain Jones Act status and, vice-versa, the seaman injured ashore is not likely to lose his/her status.

Next up . . . we talk about the Jones Act and recreational boating.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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I'm in the midst of an office move -- same building, different floor.  Still, that's got me shuttling around like a spider crab fleeing a seagull! At any rate, we'll be back to jawing out some maritime issues in a day or so. Next up is the Jones Act. What is it, and does it apply to that tactician fellow you pay in your never-ending quest to win the Club's Wednesday night racing series? Good stuff.

Underway and making way (kind of).

--- JKF

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Happy Memorial Day!  

This holiday ranks high on my list.  For the Northern Hemisphere, this day signals the official start of the Summer season.  Depending on your boating enthusiasm, your boat might be in the water and the first lick of spray curling over the bow.  I'm going to keep this short because you shouldn't be looking at a computer screen on a day like this . . . boat or not, wander down to the coastline and soak in those sun-dappled waters, eat a cheeseburger, bury a beer or two.

And because I can't resist, one maritime law comment.  Some of you may be feeling particularly patriotic today.  Maybe the high-pitched shouts of enthusiasm from your child will have you steering close to a warship which makes it important you remember that, typically, a boat is prohibited from approaching within 100 yards of a naval vessel.  Violate a "Naval Protection Zone" and there's some serious consequences including jail time and six-figure fines!

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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I had my feet on a cooler, and something advertised as "frost brewed" in my hand. It was a Saturday afternoon and the five of us were sitting on the dock, talking nonsense and critiquing the boats pulling down the channel to one of the three marinas to our south. It was a Hatteras that got us on our feet. He'd cracked off a plane, but with bow high and a wake you could've surfed, powered down the channel. We waved and hooted at him to slow up, but he wasn't having it.

It was Billy's boat that got the worst of it with impact damage to the bow where the wake had driven it into the dock. It was fixable, but it'd be a week-long repair and a couple of thousand bucks. Billy wasn't too happy, but he settled down when I explained to him that the maritime law was on his side.

You see, that wake that rolls off the back of your boat and rushes away is generally your responsibility. In other words, when your wake causes damage, it's quite possible that you're going to be on the hook because a passing vessel typically owes a duty of reasonable care to appreciate the reasonable effect of its wake. So Billy took some pictures, wrote down the names of some characters who'd seen the event (aside from us), and filed it away as next week's project.

Later on, one of us got talking about how the choices you make in life have consequences. That's when Billy chimed up. He's right, I guess, that little maxim does get visibly manifested when a boat's wake chases its way to shore.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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Admiralty law is a stretch of water with strange eddies, unexpected shallows, and an unforgiving coastline.  You could write a lengthy something about the subject's oddities, but I'm in a practical mindset this Sunday evening.

Ok, so you're at the counter of some marine-type vendor be it a marina, or an outboard repair shop. Your pen is poised above the signature line of a document that the friendly-fellow across from you just twisted around and pushed in your direction. What do you do?

Read the terms and conditions. Taking the time do so makes sense when dealing with maritime issues because under certain circumstances, admiralty law will allow negligence to be waived. If you read language that worries you, flip out your cell phone and speak to your Admiralty attorney.

Sure, it'll take you a little longer, but reading a chart takes a little longer too and both exercises might prevent you from running into troubled waters.

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, the Summer solstice signals sailing. And whether it's a weekend event at the local yacht club, or an organized regatta with a sea of colored sails, the sailing season brings a slew of racing events.

Sailboat racing can be fiercely competitive. In the small boat arena, pushing the limits of the rules and occasionally running into your friendly competitor usually never gives rise to anything that a little wax and some elbow grease can't repair. On the other hand, when a couple of forty foot vessels careen into each other, it's a different story. Serious physical and personal injuries can and do arise.

Ok, so now this is where it gets interesting. If you've raced sailboats you know that one boat can "protest" another boat's actions. These protests are resolved before a committee following the race in accordance with established rules unique to sailboat racing. And you know what, more and more courts consider the findings of the protest committee binding in a subsequent civil litigation.

Point being, if your boat is found at fault by the protest committee in a collision that involved injuries and vessel damage, your prospects of being able to get another ruling on the issue at Court may not be that good. Of course, each circumstance is unique and results could vary depending on the jurisdiction in which the dispute is pending, but it's something to keep in mind.

So the next time, you see someone saunter into the protest committee hearing with beer in hand, jocular smile, and disinterested air, think about pulling him aside and reminding him that the committee's findings might last a lot longer than the season's racing results!

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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It's Mother's Day today!  Best wishes all around on that front. Keeping in the spirit of things, I went trawling for cases in which mothers and boats intersected. These are some of the highlights I found:

A scheming son apparently transferred a boat to his mother for a fraction of its value as part of an alleged fraud. Mother and son tried to assert parent-child privilege so that she wouldn't have to testify against him. The court didn't buy it.

One of the boats involved in a bankruptcy proceeding was named: "Thanks-Mom."

There's the couple that kept buying boats by trading in their existing boat and using other funds to make up the purchase price -- apparently good old Mom kept lending them the money, but it was never repaid.

There's more, but reviewing cases like this can make you a little sad. When people are in Court it's usually as a result of some unpleasant incident be it a crime, a death or what have you. I flipped through hundreds of maritime case summaries in trying to put this entry together in the hope of coming up with something sweet and light that might have yielded a grin or two.

Instead I found page after page of mothers filing lawsuits, making claims, and trying to protect their children and family. I think it's fair to say that mothers have shaped the contours of maritime law in many ways.

In fact, mothers were at the helm of some highly influential decisions in maritime law (Miles v. Apex Marine, Yamaha v. Calhoun, etc.). And so, in casting off this entry, I'd suggest that without a mother's passion, we'd all be sailing very different legal seas which is all the more reason to make this Mother's Day a good one!

Underway and making way.

--- JKF

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