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Showing posts from April, 2012

Who Decides Damages in a Seaman's Personal Injury Action

In Clausen v. Icicle Seafoods, Inc ., Case No. 85200-6 (Mar. 15, 2012) (en banc), the Washington Supreme Court was asked to decide on an appeal involving a maritime claim for maintenance and cure whether, under federal maritime law, a judge, instead of a jury, awards attorney's fees following the jury award of compensatory and punitive damages in favor of an injured seaman against the employer for willful failure to pay maintenance and cure. Respondent Dana Clausen worked on board Appellant Icicle Seafoods' Bering Star as second engineer when he sustained injuries. Respondent encountered persistent difficulties in getting Icicle and its adjuster Spartan, to meet its obligation to pay him maintenance and cure during his recovery. Icicle paid Respondent $20 per day to cover lodging, utilities, and meals. Respondent resorted to living in a recreational vehicle with a leaking roof and with no heat, air conditioning, running water, or toilet facilities. Additionally, Icicle delayed

Non-Resident Defendants Subject to Personal Jurisdiction in Florida

In  KITROSER v. HURT ,  37 Fla. L. Weekly S237a (Fla.   Mar. 22, 2012), the Fourth District Court of Appeals (50 So. 3d 62 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)) issued an a pplication for review of its decision certifying an issue of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court, to wit , WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL, NON-RESIDENT DEFENDANT COMMITS NEGLIGENT ACTS IN FLORIDA ON BEHALF OF HIS CORPORATE EMPLOYER, DOES THE CORPORATE SHIELD DOCTRINE OPERATE AS A BAR TO PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN FLORIDA OVER THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANT? The Florida Supreme Court  held that "[w]here an individual, nonresident defendant commits negligent acts in Florida, whether on behalf of a corporate employer or not, the corporate shield doctrine does not operate as a bar to personal jurisdiction in Florida over the individual defendant." The Supreme Court noted that the plaintiff alleged without controversion that while the defendant's employees were personally in Florida, each engaged in some form of neglig

Derecktor Shipyard Improvements Coming by October 2012

I have received the latest information from Doug Morrison, Business Development Manager for Derecktor of Florida . He has advised that Derecktor has  some onsite improvements/new travel lift (820 ton) that should be up and running around the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show. The city has also started dredging the Dania Cut to 17’ for completion around February of next year.  Below is a brief bit of the Derecktor Florida yard which includes background, services & current capabilities. Doug's message goes on to explain: "Derecktor Florida has 40 years of experience with service, repair and refit work. The location covers more than 17 acres along the Dania Cut Off Canal, less than 1 mile from the Port Everglades entrance. As South Florida’s most complete marine repair facility, Derecktor Florida caters mainly to power, sail and sportfish yachts and acts as a pole of attraction in the busy Florida waters for a large fleet of cruising and racing yachts in need of repairs or major re

Mispresentation Case Defended on Misrepresentation Made in Good Faith

In the case of Borgen v. A&M Motors, Inc ., the Alaska Supreme Court considered a consumer law case that will be of interest to those involved in the buying and selling of vessels and other transportation goods.   The issue presented to the Supreme Court in this case was whether under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, a misrepresentation by a seller of a used motor home is subject to a defense that the misrepresentation was made in good faith. The Plaintiff, Robert Borgen, bought a used Travelaire motor home from A&M Motors, Inc. in 2004. The motor home had previously been owned by Thom and Linda Janidlo; the Janidlos traded in the vehicle to A&M Motors about two weeks before Borgen bought it. When the Janidlos traded in the motor home, they indicated that it was a 2002 model. At some point, someone changed the model year to 2003 on the documents at A&M Motors. The title from the State of Alaska showed that the motor home was a 2003 model, but t