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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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 ...
An arbitration clause is, essentially, a forum selection clause on steroids. While the latter merely selects the court or forum ( EX: …” any claims arising out of this contract shall be brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division …”), the former replaces the existing public judicial system for, in essence, a private one.
This post provides a basic overview of the legality and applicability of arbitration clauses in Admiralty law, and is relevant because of a Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS” ...
I hope that you find it informative and entertaining.
This post moves away from the sea and focuses on the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence. Specifically, if a party moves for summary judgment and the opposite party responds with objectionable evidence (such as hearsay or conclusory statements in an affidavit), does the moving party have to obtain a ruling on the objection to preserve error for appeal?
On June 29, 2018, the Supreme Court of Texas (“SCTX”) issued a per curiam opinion in Seim v. Allstate Texas Lloyds, et al, 02-16-00050, ____ S.W.3d ____ (Tex. 2018) wherein SCTX made clear that parties must obtain rulings on ...
An arbitration clause is, essentially, a forum selection clause on steroids. While the latter merely selects the court or forum ( EX: …” any claims arising out of this contract shall be brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division …”), the former replaces the existing public judicial system for, in essence, a private one.
This post provides a basic overview of the legality and applicability of arbitration clauses in Admiralty law, and is relevant because of a Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) decision, Epic ...
If you are a fan of the NPR Podcast "Planet Money," you may recall an episode from 2014 entitled "Mr. Jones' Act," wherein David Kestenbaum & Zoe Chace analyzed The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act, after Senator Wesley Jones of Washington. The law is an extremely broad statute, and is codified in various portions of Title 46 of the United States Code.
The episode is linked below.
https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2017/09/27/553990861/episode-524-mr-jones-act
I highly recommend listening to it.
The Jones Act governs the rights of maritime workers ...
The Maritime Proctor provides only general information about the law and does not, under any circumstances, constitute legal advice.
You should not act or refrain from acting based on these materials without first obtaining the advice of professional legal counsel.
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This blog does not create an attorney/client relationship ...
My name is Daniel Knight. I'm an Admiralty & Maritime attorney in Houston, Texas, as well as a shareholder at Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White, Williams & Aughtry, P.C. If you are interested, you can find out more about our Firm here: http://www.chamberlainlaw.com. I'm told our website works very well on smartphones.
This blog is primarily about Admiralty and Maritime law decisions, but will also have discuss 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 ...