In Re Complaint of Vulcan Const. Materials LLC- How Much Is Enough?
Inre Complaint of Vulcan Constr. Materials, LLC, 2019 U.S.Dist. LEXIS 77365, 2019 WL 2016706(E.D. Va. May 7, 2019).
By: Luke Charles Norris
The court in In re Complaint of Vulcan Const. Materials LLC was presented with the issue of what contents are needed within a letter to constitute proper service under 46 U.S.C § 30511(a). 46 U.S.C § 30511(a) states,
The owner of a vessel may bring a civil action in a district court of the United States for limitation of liability under this chapter. The action must be brought within 6 months after a claimant gives the owner written notice of a claim.[1]
This action arose out of a personalinjury sustained by the Plaintiff while assisting Vulcan in the mooring ofbarges. Plaintiff attempted to serve Vulcan with a vague, cryptic letter, whichhe believed to constitute service. Nevertheless, Defendant, Vulcan, argued thatthe letter was not proper service but more an ambiguous attempt to nullify theship-owner’s right to file a limitation action.
The court used two tests todetermine if letter sent to Vulcan constituted proper service. The first testlooked at whether (1) the letter made the vessel owner known of the claimant’sdemand of a right, (2) imputed fault on the vessel owner for damage or losssustained, and (3) called for the vessel owner to remedy the claimant orsomething due to the claimant. Likewise, the court’s second test placed weighton whether the letter indicates the reasonable possibility that the action mayexceed the value of the vessel.
Here, the court determined that theletter sent by Plaintiff was not proper service because it was tentativelywritten, and there was little indication of a potential claim. Moreover, thecourt found that the letter submitted by the Plaintiff (1) did not call uponVulcan for something due to the plaintiff, (2) did not make his intentionsclear, but instead required Vulcan to infer that someone may bring a claim, and(3) did not quantify the claim or allude to the nature of the injuries in anymanner. Courts have consistently found that a sufficient notice must providesome suggestion of the amount at issue, and because Plaintiff failed to presentsuch information, the letter delivered to Vulcan did not constitute sufficientnotice.
[1]See46 U.S.C § 30511(a) (2018).
