Norwegian Cruise Line Passenger Rescued After Going Overboard

June 21, 2011

The Maritime Executive reports today that a passenger aboard NORWEGIAN SPIRIT went overboard near New Orleans in the Plaquemines Parish on Sunday night, and was rescued by a NCL rescue boat immediately. In a statement from Norwegian Cruise Line, they stated that the incident took place at approximately 20:00 hours while travelling down the Mississippi River towards the Gulf of Mexico.  The 2,018-passenger ship had just embarked on a seven-night voyage bound for the Western Caribbean three hours prior before discovering a passenger had gone overboard. 

The overboard male passenger is currently unidentified and NCL did not indicate the cause for the plunge off the vessel, however they did disclose that he was injured in the incident. Feel free to contact me at miamipandi@comcast.net,motero@houckanderson.com or via LinkedIn at

http://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleoterovaldes.

Federal Judge Reduces Award to Carnival by Nearly $9M

June 20, 2011

U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz has slashed nearly $9 million from a jury's verdict awarding $24.8 million to Carnival in a dispute with Rolls-Royce over a defective podded propulsion system for the QE2. The judge reduced the award after finding there was no evidence to support a finding by the jury last January of a breach of warranty of workmanlike performance. She said Carnival had to replace the bearing on the pod propulsion system on the QE2 because of a design flaw, not the bearing themselves.

The award, which now stands at $16.7 million, will now be the subject of an appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

If you have any questions concerning this decision or the history on the failings of the pod propulsion systems for cruise ships, please feel free to contact me at miamipandi@comcast.net, motero@houckanderson.com or via LinkedIn at 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleoterovaldes.

Steering Defect to Blame in $25 Million WaveRunner Verdict

June 16, 2011

The Daily Business Review reports in the case of Perez v. Yamaha Motor Corp. that a Palm Beach jury awarded two victims of a WaveRunner accident $25 Million against Yamaha Motor Corp, claiming product liability. On Easter weekend 2005, Jaysell Perez, 14 and her best friend, Samantha Archer, 15, borrowed a Yamaha WaveRunner scooter from a family friend. Archer approached a boat in the Intracoastal Waterway near Currie Park in West Palm Beach and took her hand off the throttle to begin a turn but instead of turning, the WaveRunner collided with the 30-foot boat. Perez died in the collision and Archer suffered severe injuries. The families filed separate lawsuits and the cases were combined for a single trial. 

The plaintiffs claimed that Yamaha knew of steering problems but failed to provide a proper warning or redesign. From 1986-2000, owner's manuals warned beginners were likely to release the throttle when headed toward an obstacle. In 2001, the warning was removed--the girls rode a 2001 model. Yahama did not redesign its water scooter to address the steering issue until 2003. The jury was asked two design defect questions--whether the design is unreasonably dangerous to the ordinary consumer and whether the defect was the direct cause of the accident.

Jurors deliverated almost two days and approtioned 88 percent liability to Yamaha and 10 percent liability to Nicolette Archer, Samantha's mother, for giving the girls permission to use the WaveRunner. Samantha Archer and Holly were each apportioned 1 percent liability, reducing the $39.8 million jury award. The plaintiffs are expected to file motions for attorney's fees and costs and Yamaha is expected to appeal.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of this verdict, please feel free to contact me at miamipandi@comcast.net, motero@houckanderson.com or via LinkedIn at 

http://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleoterovaldes.

ATHOS I and the Reported Dilemma

June 13, 2011

On June 9, 2011, Tradewinds reported that Tsakos and the UK Club face a "dilemma" on whether or not to stick with the US government in the long-running pollution case of the ‘Athos I’. As reported by Tradewinds:

"The UK Protection-and-Indemnity (P&I) Club and Greece’s Tsakos Shipping & Trading are faced with a $177m decision in Philadelphia — whether to stick with the US government against oil major Citgo or try to turn against the US and force it to remunerate Tsakos in the costly pollution case of the 60,900-dwt Athos I (built 1983, sold and renamedGazelle, scrapped 2008). Final appeals are due on Monday in what could shape up as a three-way fight among oil-terminal owner Citgo Asphalt Refining Co, the US government’s Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (OSLTF) and Tsakos along with the UK Club. So far Tsakos and its P&I insurer have fought as a team alongside the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in a seven-year fight against Citgo. But they lost this first round. In an April decision in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (EDPA) federal court, Citgo and other affiliates won total vindication. Citgo’s damages could have amounted to around $177m. This includes a $45.5m payout by Tsakos and the UK Club, up to the shipowner’s liability cap per gross-registered tonne as prescribed by the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90). Further costs were picked up by the OSLTF."

The Tsakos-UK Club-US co-operation is continuing as the co-op filed their appeals on Monday. So despite initial reports, no cracks in the co-op--yet. 

If you are interested in reaching me, please contact me at miamipandi@comcast.net or via LinkedIn athttp://www.linkedin.com/in/michelleoterovaldes.