Admiralty & Maritime
Long history as defense counsel in the maritime industry
Bullivant Houser’s Admiralty and Maritime practice represents clients nationally and internationally. Our expertise includes:
- Ocean marine and inland marine insurance
- Bills of lading and other contracts of carriage
- Charter parties
- Law of tug, tow, and salvage
- Maritime personal injuries
- Carriage of goods
With offices serving every major port on the West Coast, we are ideally positioned to represent clients in transportation-related matters. Our experience includes:
- Interstate, intrastate, and international carriage of goods
- Maritime liens
- Vessel arrest and attachment
- Charter party arbitration
- General average
- Limitation of liability
- Jones Act
- Collision / allision
Marine Insurance Industry Expertise
We represent marine and inland marine insurers in virtually every aspect of their business and have assisted them in developing a variety of specialized types of insurance, policy forms, and endorsements. The majority of our marine insurance work involves advising insurers with respect to claims investigation and coverage issues, and representing their interests when disputes arise and litigation is necessary. Our “wet” marine insurance experience includes:
- Traditional hull
- P&I
- Cargo
- Carrier’s legal liability
- Charterer’s liability
- Excess liability/bumbershoot insurance
- MGL, MOLL, and SRLL insurance
- Pilot’s insurance
- U.S. Marshal’s service, which provides coverage for liability arising from loss or damage to arrested vessels
Our inland marine experience is equally broad, encompassing builder’s risk, installation, course of construction, DIC/earthquake, mail, contractor’s equipment, jeweler’s block, and flooring insurance, as well as trucker’s, freight forwarder’s, and warehouseman’s legal liability insurance.
Our international experience and a wide network of correspondent counsel enable us to identify particularly favorable (or unfavorable) jurisdictions, maximizing results for our clients.
RELATED PRACTICES
Cargo claims on prepaid freight to an NVOCC and contractual privity
Commodities Reserve Co. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. (9th Circuit)
Coupon Clearing Service v. United States Fire Ins. Co. (California Court of Appeals)
Coverage dispute involving class action claims against fidelity insurer as a result of Ponzi Scheme
Defense of cargo interests in NVOCC bills of lading
Defense of maritime insurance company in wrongful repossession claims
Employee Spotlight: Ginger Erickson-Gettel
At Bullivant, we are proud of the team of attorneys and professionals we have assembled.…