Court battle of the presumptions
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed and remanded a District Court decision involving a barge breakaway and allision on the Mississippi River. The owner of the vessel that was hit by the barge that broke away from a fleeting area brought suit against the company that operated the fleeting area. The fleeting company filed a third party complaint against the owner of a vessel that it alleged was improperly operated such as to cause the barge to break away. As between the fleeting company and the third party defendant, the appellate court ruled that the trial court improperly applied various presumptions and failed to allocate damages among the defendants in accordance with their relative fault. Combo Maritime v. U.S. United Bulk Terminal, No. 09-30592
Source: United States Court of Appeal