Trial Court Dismisses Punitive Damage Claim in Allision Case
Cox Operating, LLC v. ATINA M/V, 2023 WL 2757021; 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 57837 * (No: 20-2845 c/w 20-2871, E.D. La. April 3, 2023, Milazzo, J.)
This maritime claim for damages to a SP Platform 57B owned by Cox Operating, LLC was consolidated with the limitation action filed by the owners of M/V ATINA. When the vessel arrived in the Mississippi River, the captain on board began to act erratically. The employer sent another captain from Istanbul, Turkey to replace him.[1] The replacement was underway for 24 hours before he boarded the vessel and had not slept for 52 hours.[2] The vessel had moved from a terminal on the river to a location at Southwest Pass Anchorage area and within a short distance of the platform.[3] A dispatcher then requested the vessel to move to keep a 4-mile buffer with a sea buoy.[4] The crew was confused whether the platform was moving or not. In any event, the vessel allided with the structure.[5]
Several motions were brought for Summary Judgment for punitive damages and to dismiss the punitive damage claim. Judge Milazzo relied on the standards established in Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker[6] to determine if the acts of the vessel owner rose to the threshold for punitive damages. She recognized that there were issues of fact whether fatigue and inadequate handover and training caused the allision.[7] However, none of the acts of the vessel owner or employer rose to the level of the “’ civil equivalent of a crime or the kind of reprehensible culpability involved in Exxon Shipping.’”[8] The Petitioners[9] motions to dismiss the claim for punitive damages with prejudice were granted.[10]
[1] 2023 WL 2757021 at *1.
[2] Id. at *2
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id. The captain also prepared three different incident reports with three different noted “root causes” for the incident.
[6] 554 U.S. 471 (2008).
[7] 2023 WL 2757021 at *4 .
[8] Id. citing Matter of Crosby Marine Transportation, L.L.C., No. CV 17-14023, 2021 WL 1931168, (E.D. La. 2021).
[9] Petitioners included: Atina Maritime Ltd., Besiktas Likid Tasimacilik Denizcilik Ticaret A.S., and Ciner Ship Management's.
[10] 2023 WL 2757201 at *5.
