World Maritime Day Today

September 29, 2011

Today we celebrate IMO's World Maritime Day.

This year is special given the goal of this day today in attracting public, private, and government attention to promote anti-piracy coordination and cooperation procedures between and among States, regions, organisations and industry. 

To mark this occasion, piracy will be the focus of this year’s North American World Maritime Day Observance being held in Tampa, Florida on October 27th followed by a US Coast Guard Missions conference on October 28th which will feature panel discussions on the stewardship, safety and security missions of the Coast Guard.  Both events will be held at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa and are free and open to the public. North American regional representatives from industry, government and NGO’s will dialog on these critically important regional issues.  The events directly follow the USCG Flag Officer’s conference and Innovation Expo. For information on attending this event, you may wish to contact r.lambert@namepa.net.

I also invite you to  remember  all seafarers -- men and women --  serving our industry at sea and especially those who are being held hostage by pirates off east Africa and elsewhere. 


With my very best regards to all, Michelle Otero Valdés. You may reach me at miamipandi@comcast.net or motero@houckanderson.com.

Salvors Lose Round 2 Against Spain

September 23, 2011

The Daily Business Review has reported today that Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration has been ordered to turn over to the Spanish government 17 tons of silver coins and other treasure recovered from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007. The ship, reportedly the NUESTRA SENORA DE LAS MERCEDES, was sunk by British warships in the Atlantic in 1804 while sailing from South America with more than 200 people on board. In May 2007, Odyssey announced that it had recovered more than 500,000 silver coins and other artifacts from the wreck and flew the treasure back to Tampa. 

Spain went to federal court in Tampa claiming ownership over the treasure. Odyssey disputed the Spanish government's ownership of the valuable cargo. A federal judge sided with Spain in the first round of the tug-of-war in 2009, accepting the Spanish government's argument that it never surrendered ownership of the ship and its contents. Odyssey appealed before the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. The three-judge panel issued its ruling in favor of Spain in a case that could spill over to other treasure hunts for years to come.

Odyssey will now reportedly seek a hearing before all the judges of the Eleventh Circuit. If this request fails, Odyssey will need to seek U.S. Supreme Court review if it wishes to continue its "odyssey." Odyssey's position is that the wreck was never positively identified as the NUESTRA SENORA DE LAS MERCEDES and even if it is that vessel, the ship was on a commercial trade trip, not a sovereign mission at the time it sank. This means that Spain should have no firm claim to the booty. International treaties generally hold warships sunk in battle are protected from treasure seekers.

If you are interested in receiving a copy of the Eleventh Circuit decision or wish to reach me, you may do so by contacting me at miamipandi@comcast.net or at Houck Anderson at motero@houckanderson.com.

Judicial Hellholes -- How Does South Florida Fare?

September 21, 2011

One of my fellow colleagues at Houck Anderson has provided me a copy of the American Tort Reform Foundation's 2010-2011 "Judicial Hellholes" piece. I recall reading the piece issued for 2009-2010, which ranked South Florida as the number one "Judicial Hellhole" in all of the United States. That is quite a notorious distinction that no jurisdiction wants. The 2009-2010 report can be found below at:

http://www.atra.org/reports/hellholes/report.pdf

This year, South Florida ranks as the number 4 "Judicial Hellhole" for all the United States. The report cites the Florida Legislature's passing of three laws: 1) a constructive notice requirement for slip-and-fall cases; 2) the approval of parents signing liability waivers on behalf of their minor child; and 3) caps on attorney's fees for attorneys that do work for the state. That report can be found by clicking below:

http://www.judicialhellholes.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/JH2010.pdf

Now, I do not provide this information because I agree with the reports issued. Far from it! I provide this information so that points of view on litigation in South Florida can be brought out to light and discussed in this forum. Litigation affects the maritime industry--just look at the amount of cruise lines involved in litigation here. In interpreting these reports, they are certainly quite one sided (they are issued by the American Tort Reform Foundation, aren't they?). However, they do highlight difficulties those of us in the defense community face in South Florida--high verdicts and scandals involving attorneys meant to uphold their oaths of attorney when they became members of the Florida Bar. We can only hope that South Florida will continue to make its way out of this notorious list.

If you are interested in reaching me or wish to discuss this issue further, please feel free to write me at miampandi@comcast.net or at Houck Anderson, P.A. at motero@houckanderson.com.