Cruise Ship Law

ADMIRAL CRUISE SERVICES, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, vs. M/V ST. TROPEZ, her engines, tackle and appurtenances, in rem, et al., Defendants.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA, MIAMI DIVISION
2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92488
December 6, 2007, Decided

PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff filed an action seeking a maritime lien in the amount of $ 1,631,598.35 against defendant vessel. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on crew members' claims for unpaid tips.



OVERVIEW: The vessel owner had previously filed for bankruptcy. The only pending dispute concerns the crew members' claims for tips collected during the time that the vessel was under the control of the bankruptcy trustee--and before its arrest. Plaintiff contended that the crew members' claims for tips lay in bankruptcy and not in admiralty. The crew members contended that maritime liens for wages were liens independent from the bankruptcy estate. The court concluded that the crew members had a valid lien on the proceeds from the sale of the vessel. The trustee in this case assumed and continued the operation of the vessel until its arrest for the benefit of the bankruptcy estate. In so doing, the trustee stepped into the shoes of the owner of the vessel. The vessel was not in judicial custody at the time that the tips claimed by the crew were collected by the trustee. Even if the vessel was deemed to be in judicial custody at the time in question, the crew members's claims had to be paid from the proceeds of the sale as an expense of justice.



OUTCOME: The court entered summary judgment in favor of the crew members and against plaintiff.