Historically, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has issued Incidents of Non-Compliance (INC’s) to oil and gas lease holders on the Outer Continental Shelf for a variety of accidents, spills, and other incidents offshore. However, as a result of the events that led to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and the subsequent investigation,
Louisiana Law Blog
Insight and Information on Louisiana Law, Litigation, and Legal Culture
Latest from Louisiana Law Blog - Page 22
U.S. 5th Circuit: Plaintiffs Can Recover Only LHWCA Medical Benefits Paid, Not Billed
By Tod Everage
The U.S. 5th Circuit has finally weighed in on the application of the collateral source rule to Longshore benefits. Back in June, we discussed the latest case out of the EDLA discussing this issue. On November 17, 2016, the U.S. Fifth Circuit came to the same conclusion: a plaintiff may only recover the amount actually…
Admiralty and Navigable Water Bodies – Not Just Jurisdictional Issues
By Kean Miller
As fundamental as the concept of jurisdiction might be, it is often assumed to exist and therefore glazed over in a plaintiff’s petition or a defendant’s notice of removal. But jurisdiction is one of the foundational elements upon which our judicial systems, both state and federal, are built. Thus, it is a necessary element of…
EDLA Rules Plug and Abandon Contract is Maritime in Nature, Providing Indemnification to Platform Owner for Personal Injury Claims
In November 2016, the Eastern District of Louisiana again confronted the “marshland” involved in categorizing a contract as maritime or non-maritime. In In re: Crescent Energy Services, LLC, No. 15-819 (E.D. La. Nov. 7, 2016), the court held that a contract to plug and abandon a well in Louisiana waters was maritime in nature.
Crescent…
Decision on Fair Labor Standards Act Expected Next Week?
Could a decision on the challenge to the U.S. Department of Labor’s new salary basis rule be coming soon? Employment Law360, a national, daily legal news service, reported this morning that a Texas Federal Judge would decide by Tuesday, November 22, whether to stop the new overtime rules from taking effect on December 1.
The…
Medicare’s Commercial Repayment Center Means Business: Swift Deadlines on Conditional Payment Notices and Demand Letters
Historically, the Benefits Coordination and Recovery Center (“BCRC”) arm of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) collected Medicare’s conditional payments. While the BCRC continues to address Medicare’s reimbursement rights with Medicare beneficiaries, in late 2015 the CMS’s Commercial Repayment Center (“CRC”) took over responsibility for seeking reimbursement directly from Applicable Plans. Applicable Plans…
EDLA Reminds That Maritime Liens Are Not Automatically Enforceable At Time Of Attachment… But There Are Exceptions
By Chauvin Kean
On August 10, 2016, the Eastern District of Louisiana reaffirmed that a maritime lien may attach to a vessel at the moment the necessaries are provided, but that the lien may not yet be enforceable until payment is due (i.e., the debt had matured). Thus, in the typical case, the amount of security necessary to…
Decedents Who Are Neither Jones Act Seaman Nor Covered By The LHWCA Are “Nonseafarers”
By Kean Miller
In the recent case of In re Marquette Transp., No. 13-5114, 2016 WL 1695109 (E.D. La. 4/26/16), Judge Sarah Vance offered the latest comment on how a “seafarer” is defined by the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199 (1996).
In re Marquette arose out of a…
Record Retention Requirements after a Natural Disaster
For several businesses in the Baton Rouge area, one of the many implications of the recent flooding is the loss of business records that are subject to retention requirements under various state and federal laws. In light of the destruction of many such records in the flood, a question arises as to the applicability of…
U.S. 5th Circuit Affirms That Tension Leg Platforms (TLP’s) Are Not Vessels
By Tod Everage
Given the significantly better benefits available to an injured worker who qualifies under the Longshoreman and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) compared to a state workers’ compensation scheme, attorneys for injured workers are constantly trying to fit their client into the LHWCA to maximize their potential recovery. As a result, there is a steady availability…