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limitation of liability’


Deepwater Horizon Explosion Draws Much-Needed Attention to Maritime Laws

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

As a maritime lawyer, I know for a fact that admiralty laws are some of the most misunderstood and least well-known of laws. It's highly likely that most Americans have never heard of the Jones Act, and even if they've heard of it, have no idea what it involves. There is even lesser chance that most Americans have heard of the Death on the High Seas Act, or even the Limitation of Liability Act.  Some of that is changing since the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in April....

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Transocean Petitions Court to Limit Its Liability in Rig Explosion

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_2148" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_Oil_Rig_Explosion"][/caption] Several major publications, including the Wall Street Journal, are reporting that Transocean filed a petition today to limit its liability in the Deepwater Horizon oil rig blast. Transocean filed under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. What Is the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851? The Limitation of Liability Act was passed in order to protect American vessels from competition by foreign vessel owners. Foreign vessels in those days, had immunity from claims. It was felt that American vessels would have a competitive edge over their foreign counterparts, if there was a limit set...

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Transocean to Limit Its Liability to $27 Million

Sunday, May 16th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_2145" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_offshore_explosion"][/caption] Transocean has filed a petition to limit its liability in the oil rig explosion last month to just over $27 million. The petition was filed in the US District Court in Houston today Obviously, this significantly impacts any Transocean oil rig explosion claims arising out of the massive blast last month that killed 11 workers and injured 17. It also affects those workers who have not yet filed a claim against Transocean. Once a limitation liability petition is filed, workers only have six months to file their injury claim. It's not really surprising that Transocean...

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Transocean Seeks to Limit Liability: What Does It Mean for Workers?

Saturday, May 15th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_2142" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_Oil_Rig_Explosion"][/caption] Today, Transocean filed a petition in a Houston court, seeking to limit its liability in the oil rig explosion last month, to just over $27 million. Transocean's lawyers filed the petition this morning at the US District Court in Houston, which is just a few blocks from our maritime law firm office in Houston. Under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, vessel owners can move to limit the extent of their liability after a maritime accident. It's common for vessel owners to file petitions for limitation of liability, after a major maritime accident like the...

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Transocean Oil Rig Explosion: Lawyer Brian Beckom Discusses Limitation of Liability

Friday, May 14th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_2137" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_offshore_explosion"][/caption] Offshore workers who were on the Transocean oil rig Deepwater Horizon which exploded in the Gulf of Mexico last month, woke this morning to news that the company had filed a petition to limit its liability in the explosion. It's safe to assume that this news will come as a shock to many of Transocean's loyal workers. The company this morning filed a petition to limit its liability in the US District Court in Houston. The company filed the petition under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851. This law was passed...

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Transocean Will Petition to Limit Liability in Oil Rig Explosion

Thursday, May 13th, 2010

[caption id="attachment_2134" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Transocean_explosion"][/caption] Transocean will file a petition in a Houston court to limit its liability in the oil rig explosion last month. Several media channels are reporting that the company which is the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon semisubmersible rig, is expected to file its petition at the US District Court in Houston. Limitation of liability statutes allow a vessel owner to limit the extent of damages that it may have to pay out. A vessel owner may move to file a limitation of liability petition after a maritime accident, and it can dramatically impact any...

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Limitations of Liability and how it Impacts Your Jones Act Claim

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Limitation of liability is one of the ways that a maritime employer under the Jones Act can use, to limit his liability in a civil action. Simply put, Limitation of Liability allows the owner of the vessel to restrict his liability for a worker’s injuries. The provision for such a restriction is contained in the Limitation of Liability act of 1851. The Act was meant to give American-flagged vessels an edge while competing with foreign vessels on the open seas. It was then believed that vessel owners who faced unrestricted or unlimited liability in case of maritime disasters like a...

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