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Leblanc Bland Pllc News

15 Jan 2013

Delta Towing Wins Out in Legal Tussle

LeBlanc Bland P.L.L.C. announces important Fifth Circuit Maritime Ruling: decision addresses enforceability of liquidated damages provision. An important Fifth Circuit decision in a dispute over the enforceability of a liquidated damages provision -- here, triggered by breaches of a non-compete clause in the sale of two vessels -- constitutes only the third time the Fifth Circuit has addressed this enforceability issue under maritime law. The decision was handed down last week in the case of International Marine, L.L.C. and International Offshore Services, L.L.C. versus Delta Towing L.L.C., where the Fifth Circuit found in favor of the seller, Delta, and upheld the enforceability of the liquidated damages provision.

17 Aug 2012

Fifth Circuit Decision Defines Scope of Jones Act Employment

An important decision affecting vicarious liability for Jones Act employers for the acts of their employees was issued August 14, 2012 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision, an action against Hercules Drilling Company represented by LeBlanc Bland, P.L.L.C. with offices in New Orleans and Houston, reverses the Eastern District of Louisiana’s earlier ruling, has significant implications for employers in the maritime industry, confirming the test for course and scope of employment for Jones Act employees. The decision results from a tragic case (Amanda Beech v. Hercules Drilling Company, LLC., No. 11-30415) in which an employee of Hercules Drilling Company, in violation of company policy, unintentionally brought a firearm to his job aboard a jack-up drilling rig.