Freehill Partner John Karpousis has once again been successful in the Appellate Division on a 905(b) case.
Mr. Karpousis successfully argued before the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division Second Department that a barge owner in a marine construction application was not liable under 33 USC 905(b) for a crane operator’s injuries. The crane operator suffered two separate injuries on two separate occasions and the Appellate Division held that there was no liability for our client under either scenario. In the first instance , the plaintiff could not prove “vessel owning” negligence under the standards enunciated under the Gravatt and Daza cases (both FH&M cases handled by Mr. Karpousis). With respect to the second injury, the Court held that because the accident occurred on land after he had disembarked the vessel, no cause of action could lie against the vessel owner pursuant to the US Supreme Court decision Victory Carriers v. Law. A link to the Decision of the Appellate Division is here. Congratulations to John, the firm and its clients.