Superior Court News

The state of California has sued major oil companies including Exxon Mobil, Shell PLC, and Chevron, accusing them of playing down the risks posed by fossil fuels, according to a court filing on Friday.The lawsuit, which also targets BP and ConocoPhillips, alleges the energy giants' actions have caused tens of billions of dollars in damages and accuses them of deceiving the public, the filing in a superior court in San Francisco showed.The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group…

The Liberian Registry, in cooperation with the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), has succeeded in helping the holder of a Liberian mortgage to overturn a decision of the Brazilian courts which, if left uncontested, could have had serious adverse legal and economic consequences for the international shipping industry. Pursuant to the acquisition of the FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading vessel) OSX-3 in March 2012 by a Dutch company and following re-registration under the Liberian flag…

A Washington resident has been fined for interfering with the safe operation of a Washington State Ferry (WSF) passenger vessel by shining a laser at the ferry’s master and chief mate. Mark Raden of Freeland, Wash. was aboard the WSF Kitsap transiting between Mukilteo and Clinton on October 22, 2015 when he pointed the high-powered blue laser at the WSF Tokitae, striking the vessel's master and chief mate in the eyes and endangering the 106 passengers on board. A U.S. Coast Guard Hearing Officer assessed a $9,500 civil penalty on December 27 2016.

A coalition of environmental groups has sued the Port of Seattle over a leasing agreement to host Shell Oil’s Arctic drilling fleet, claiming the deal was negotiated in secret and may pollute the port. They argued that the port needed to allow more public involvement and violated two state laws. The Port of Seattle earlier this month signed a two-year lease for 50 acres across from downtown Seattle to Foss Maritime, the company that will manage Shell’s drilling fleet here in Seattle at Terminal 5. That terminal has been empty since last summer because the port is planning to overhaul it to allow bigger cargo ships. So this is a temporary use to generate about $13 million. The groups allege that the port violated state environmental laws when it did not do a review.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) (SIX: RIGN) announced today that at approximately noon Rio De Janeiro time (11 a.m., ET), September 27, 2012, the federal court in Rio de Janeiro served the company with a preliminary injunction requiring that it cease operations in Brazil within 30 calendar days from the date of service. The company is vigorously pursuing the overturn or suspension of the preliminary injunction, including through an appeal to the Superior Court of Justice. Absent relief from the courts, Transocean will be required to comply with the preliminary injunction. Transocean currently has 10 rigs under contract for work in Brazil, with nine currently in country, and is evaluating rig contracts and collaborating with customers to determine appropriate actions with respect to operations.

Transocean Ltd. announce the federal court in Rio de Janeiro has served a preliminary injunction requiring it to cease operations in Brazil within 30 calendar days. The company is vigorously pursuing the overturn or suspension of the preliminary injunction, including through an appeal to the Superior Court of Justice. Absent relief from the courts, Transocean will be required to comply with the preliminary injunction. Transocean currently has 10 rigs under contract for work in Brazil, with nine currently in country, and is evaluating rig contracts and collaborating with customers to determine appropriate actions with respect to operations. For the six months ended June 30, 2012, the company's operations in Brazil accounted for approximately 11 percent of consolidated operating revenues.

The Superior Court issued an “Order to Compel” to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. The court order issued to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation is for failing to address challenges brought by Campaign to Safeguard America’s Waters and Friends of the Earth to the Cruise Ship Discharge Permit that allows cruise ships to dump their wastewater into Alaska’s waterways. Earthjustice sued on behalf of CSAW and Friends of the Earth because the permit violated key provisions of the State’s pollution law. CSAW and Friends of the Earth won the case in May, 2011, however, ADEC has failed to fix the significant flaws in the permit for more than fourteen months. The Court is now ordering ADEC to act by August 31.

The owners and operators of a container ship that slammed into the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007 and spilled thousands of gallons of oil into San Francisco Bay have sued the Northern California pharmacists they claim negligently dispensed prescription drugs to the pilot of the Cosco Busan, according to news in 'The Washington Post'. The ship’s owner, Regal Stone Ltd., and operator Fleet Management Ltd. Alleged in court papers filed in San Francisco Superior Court Friday that the pills “recklessly” provided by pharmacists at a Longs drug store in Petaluma, Calif. had so clouded pilot John Cota’s judgment and dulled his reflexes that they led to the crash.

Oil Spill Proceeds Of Settlement to Fund Projects and Restore Natural Resources Largest Oil Pollution Act Settlement in History of the Law. Federal, state and Bay-area officials announced a comprehensive civil settlement with the owners and operators of the M/V Cosco Busan, resolving all natural resource damages, penalties and response costs that resulted from the ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in 2007, and subsequent oil spill in the San Francisco Bay. The event killed thousands of birds, impacted a significant portion of the Bay’s 2008 herring spawn, spoiled miles of shoreline habitat and closed the bay and area beaches to recreation and fishing. The U.S.

Davie Yards announced today that it has obtained an order from the Québec Superior Court extending the stay of proceedings ordered by the Court to January 21, 2011, the whole pursuant to the companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The extension will allow Davie to continue to discuss with potential industrial investors, to pursue its efforts to qualify for the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS), and to develop and eventually submit a plan of arrangement to its creditors under CCAA. Since the previous court hearing in September, Davie has received formal expressions of interest from two potential investors in addition to having ongoing discussions with others.

Davie Yards announced that it has obtained an order from the Québec Superior Court extending the stay of proceedings ordered by the Court to September 15, 2010, in accordance with the terms of the written order to be issued by the Court, the whole pursuant to the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA). The extension will allow Davie to continue its restructuring efforts, to negotiate with potential investors, and to develop and eventually submit a plan of arrangement to its creditors under CCAA. As a preventive measure and in order to comply with statutory requirements, Davie has also sent a notice to the Quebec Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity to inform that the layoffs made earlier this year may exceed a period of six months.

Ocean Hotels Plc. On 25 February 2010, Davie Yards announced it has filed for creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) with the Québec Superior Court, in Canada. On 26 February 2010, Tore Enger resigned from the Board of Directors of Ocean Hotels PLC and following a Board of Directors meeting that was held the same day, Alexandros Tsirikos was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Board is looking into terminating the management agreement between Ocean Hotels and Teco Management, and appointed Anthony Kandylidis as CEO / Managing Director of Ocean Hotels. Director Constantinos Economides also resigned as Director of the Board, to allow for a more efficient Board, and will remain Corporate Secretary of Ocean Hotels.

On April 25, 2008, the Alaska Supreme Court held that a City of Valdez property tax, apportioned based on days docked in the City over days docked everywhere and imposed on large vessels, did not violate the Due Process, Commerce or Tonnage Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. City of Valdez v. Polar Tankers, S-12218/12223, Supreme Court of Alaska (April 25, 2008). In 2000, the City of Valdez (the "City") adopted a personal property tax (the "Vessel Tax") to compensate for its declining oil and gas property revenues. Revenues were declining as a result of a depreciation formula negotiated by the State of Alaska and the owners of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (the "TAPS"), which included Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil, in the mid-1980s.

Two Coast Guard small boats set a security zone around the 900-foot container ship Cosco Busan. The ship hit the San Francisco Bay Bridge Nov. 7, 2007 spilling an estimated 58,000 gallons of oil into the bay.(U.S. City Attorney Dennis Herrera filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court, under the State's Lempert-Keene-Seastrand Oil Spill Prevention and Response Act and other state laws, against the parties responsible for the November 7 oil spill incident in the San Francisco Bay. In that incident, the M/V Cosco Busan, a 65,131-ton, 900-ft.

According to reports, a Tacoma shipbuilder sued Washington State Ferries, claiming the state tried to "obstruct, frustrate and otherwise delay" the process of acquiring four new ferries from the shipbuilder. A ferry official generally denied the claim and said the state is pressing ahead to build the boats. The suit, filed in King County Superior Court on behalf of J.M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corp., asks for unspecified damages and is one of an ongoing series of disputes with the state ferry system. A recent statement from the ferry system said Martinac and two other shipbuilders were technically and financially capable of building the boats.

President George W. Bush appointed Julie A. Nelson as the Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration on October 6, 2006. Nelson took over the responsibilities of the Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator on May 1, upon the resignation of John Jamian and before the confirmation of Sean T. Connaughton as Maritime Administrator. Nelson officially joined the agency as Chief Counsel in August 2005. Nelson has extensive experience in the Maritime Industry and Admiralty Law, which gives her a solid understanding of the work done within the Maritime Administration. Nelson joins MARAD from Oceaneering International, Inc., an ocean engineering development group, where she served as General Manager and Maritime/Contracts Attorney.

Alaska filed a civil suit on Aug. 13 against Royal Caribbean Cruises, accusing the company of dumping oil and other hazardous wastes into state waters after the firm pleaded guilty to federal criminal pollution charges. Royal Caribbean pleaded guilty last month and was fined $18 million for 21 felony counts of violating federal water pollution laws in areas ranging from the Caribbean to Alaska’s Inside Passage. Attorney General Bruce Botelho said the state filed a civil case in Superior Court in Juneau because Royal Caribbean’s previous guilty pleas precluded Alaska from lodging its own criminal case against the firm for dumping oil, photo chemicals and other wastes into Juneau’s harbor and other state waters.