Chamberlain Hrdlicka's Maritime Proctor Blog is primarily about Admiralty and Maritime law decisions, but also discusses non-Admiralty litigation as well as other legal issues. This blog does not constitute legal advice of any kind. Moreover, it does not create an attorney/client relationship between the reader and either myself or Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Instead, I merely endeavor to discuss, on a broad level, common issues I see in my practice, as well as recent case developments or news concerning the Maritime industry.
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- Posts by Steven J. Knight
ShareholderSteve Knight is a Shareholder in the Houston Litigation group and is Chair of the Appellate Law section.
Throughout his career, Mr. Knight has successfully represented clients at every phase of the appellate process, from handling ...
The focus of this post is maritime liens, which are a common commercial claim asserted against a vessel in rem, meaning the claimant sues the vessel directly. Usually this happens in Federal Court under Rule 9(h), but some states, such as Florida, allow for assertion of maritime liens in state court.
An Overview of What Constitutes a Maritime Lien
Maritime liens are both a creature of common law judicial custom and statute. Thomas Schoenbaum, a noted admiralty commentator, lists the most common maritime liens in his treatise Admiralty and Maritime Law as follows:
- Wages for the ship ...