Cruise Ship Law

MICHAEL LEVENE VERSUS UNITED STATES, ET AL.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 02-0242 SECTION "A"(1)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1894
February 7, 2003, Decided
February 10, 2003, Filed, Entered

DISPOSITION: Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by defendants General Dynamics Corporation and American Overseas Marine Corporation denied. Motion in Limine filed by defendant United States granted in part and denied in part.

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff seaman sued defendant, the United States and operators of vessels owner by the United States, alleging that the unseaworthiness of the vessels caused injuries to the seaman. The operators moved for summary judgment, and the United States moved in limine to exclude the testimony of the seaman's maritime expert.

OVERVIEW: The operators contended that, since they were merely agents of the United States in operating the vessels, only the United States was a proper party defendant. The United States asserted that the testimony of the seaman's maritime expert was mere legal conjecture and contained unsupported opinions. The court first held that the contract between the operators and the United States by itself did not conclusively establish or negate the agency status of the operators, and thus fact issues remained concerning such status. Further, the seaman's expert was not entitled to testify concerning the seaworthiness of vessels he never inspected, nor to offer inadmissible legal conclusions as to liability, but the expert could testify concerning vessel operating procedures.

OUTCOME: The operators' motion for summary judgment was denied; the United States motion in limine was granted in part to limit the expert's testimony to vessel operating procedures, but the motion was otherwise denied.