Cruise Ship Law

JOHN F. HURLEY, Plaintiff, v. M/V MAJESTIC STAR, herengines, boilers, furniture, tackle and apparel; and MAJESTIC STAR CASINO, Defendants.

NO. 2:04-CV-277 PS
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OFINDIANA, HAMMOND DIVISION
2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13480
July 6, 2005, Decided

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff, a riverboat casino employee, sued defendant casino seeking overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C.S. § 201 et seq. The employee also attempted to invoke the court's admiralty jurisdiction; he brought an action in rem against the physical vessel on which he worked pursuant to the Maritime Lien Act (MLA), 46 U.S.C.S. 31342(a)(2). The vessel and the casino moved to dismiss.

OVERVIEW: The employee had not stated a claim for relief with respect to the vessel because the complaint alleged that the employee was not "employed as a seaman" and that he performed services of a non-maritime nature aboard a vessel that was virtually permanently moored. By attempting to take advantage of the protections of the FLSA, the employee had, in effect, pled himself out of court on his maritime lien claim. Moreover, there was no right to overtime under general maritime law principles, and the employee admitted that he was properly paid his regular wages in full. Further, the employee could not bring an FLSA claim directly against the vessel because the vessel was not an employer. The employee also could not maintain a maritime lien against the casino because the employee had pled that he was not a seaman. However, the employee could maintain an FLSA claim against the casino as he alleged that he worked in excess of 40 hours per week, that he was not compensated at a rate of one and one half times his regular rate, that he was not employed as seamen, and that he performed non-maritime duties.

OUTCOME: The in rem case against the vessel was dismissed for failure to state claim, but the casino's motion to dismiss was denied.