Claim Upset by Lack of Jurisdiction and Res Judicata

In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of a ship management company over claims for personal injury brought by the former master of an oil tanker. Plaintiff asserted he was injured when the crane, which was offloading him in a basket, collapsed, dropping him into the Gulf of Mexico. This was the fifth lawsuit filed by plaintiff based on this incident and sought payment of $2 million in actual damages and $10 million in punitive damages. Suit in this case was filed in Maryland where a subsidiary of the ship manager had previously maintained an office. That office was sold to another company prior to the incident at issue. The court held that, since the incident occurred in the Gulf of Mexico and there was no indication that defendant conducted business in Maryland at the time of the incident, the court in Maryland had no personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Further, the court held that the issue of liability for the incident had already been adjudicated by a court having jurisdiction over the parties and the principle of res judicata prevented the issue from being litigated anew. Saudi v. V. Ship Switzerland, S.A., No. 03-1307 (4th Cir., March 31, 2004). (HK Law)