Bouchard Transp. Co., Inc. v. Updegraff, 155
| Decision Date | 31 July 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 155,T,Nos. 96-3494,96-3605 and 96-3727,155,s. 96-3494 |
| Citation | 147 F.3d 1344 |
| Parties | , 1998 A.M.C. 2409, 29 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,139, 23 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C 1690 BOUCHARD TRANSPORTATION COMPANY, INC., for exoneration from or limitation of liability as owner or as owner pro hoc vice of Tug Capt. Fred Bouchard and Barge B.ug Captain Fred Bouchard Corporation, for exoneration from or limitation of liability as owner or as owner pro hac vice of Tug Capt. Fred Bouchard and Barge B., et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Ramona M. UPDEGRAFF, Ambrose G. Updegraff, et al., Claimants-Appellees, Boca Ciega Hotel, Inc., et al., Movants-Appellees. TSACABA SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED, as owner of the M/V Balsa 37, Official Number 228571, Hiong Guan Navegacion Co., Ltd., as charterer of the M/V Balsa 37, Official Number 228571, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY, State of Florida, United States of America, et al., Claimants-Appellees, Boca Ciega Hotel, Inc., Movant-Appellee. MARITRANS OPERATING PARTNERS L.P., for exoneration from or limitation of liability as owner of the tug Seafarer, official number 532672, and Barge Ocean 255, official number 534910, Maritrans General Partner, Inc., for exoneration from or limitation of liability as owner of the tug Seafarer, official number 532672, and Barge Ocean 255, official number 534910, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Ramona M. UPDEGRAFF, Ambrose G. Updegraff, et al., Claimants-Appellees, Boca Ciega Hotel, Inc., et al., Movants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Carl R. Nelson, Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villareal & Banker, P.A., Tampa, FL, for Bouchard Transp. Co., Inc. and Tug Captain Fred Bouchard Corp.
Robert W. Mills, Gilmur R. Murray, Nicole A. Diller, Richard S. Kohn, Derek G. Howard, The Mills Law Firm, Greenbrae, CA, R. Adam Carnegie, Dominick J. Graziano, Hearne, Graziano & Nader, P.A., Tampa, FL, for Boca Ciega Hotel, Barry Jones, Brenda Jones, John Jones, Ahmad Shihadeh, Geiken, Koukoulis, Don Tobin and Joan Tobin.
Peter G. Myer, Frederick W. Tucher, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for United States.
Denis Dean, John W. Costigan, Tallahassee, FL, for Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection.
Nathaniel G. W. Pieper, David W. McCreadie, Lane, Lane, Pieper, Conley & McCreadie, Tampa, FL, Robert B. Parrish, Matthew G. Nasrallah, Moseley, Warren, Prichard & Parrish, Jacksonville, FL, for Maritrans.
Andra Todd Dreyfus, Andra Todd Dreyfus, P.A., E. Wallace Pope, Jr., Duane A. Daiker, Johnson, Blakely, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, P.A., Clearwater, FL, for Ramona M. Updegraff, Garnett, Bleckley Corp. H&H, Charmar and McCorkley.
Robert L. Rocke, Annis, Mitchell, Cockley, Edwards & Roehn, Tampa, FL, for Excel Hospitality, Inc.
Timothy Peter Shusta, Hayden & Milliken, P.A., Tampa, FL, Reginald M. Hayden, Jr., Hayden & Milliken, P.A., Miami, FL, for Tsacaba Shipping Co., Ltd., Hiong Guan Navegacion Co., Ltd. and Dowa Line Co., Ltd.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Before COX, DUBINA and BLACK, Circuit Judges.
This appeal presents three issues: (1) whether the State of Florida, Department of Environmental Protection (Florida), is entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity from a maritime limitation proceeding initiated pursuant to Rule F of the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims (Rule F); (2) whether claims brought pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. §§ 2701-2761 (OPA 90), are subject to Rule F and therefore constrained to Rule F limitation proceedings; and (3) whether claims brought pursuant to Florida's Pollution Discharge Prevention and Control Act, Fla. Stat. ch. 376.011-.17, 376.19-.21 (Florida Act), are subject to Rule F and therefore constrained to Rule F limitation proceedings.
A freighter and two tugs pushing petroleum-carrying barges collided in Tampa Bay on August 10, 1993. Within six months of the collision, the owners of the three vessels (Owners) each filed a complaint in the district court for exoneration from or limitation of liability in accordance with Rule F.
Rule F evolved as a procedural device to implement the Limitation of Shipowner's Liability Act of 1851, 46 U.S.C. App. §§ 181-196 (Limitation Act). The Limitation Act generally limits the liability of a shipowner for claims brought under general maritime law or common law to the value of the vessel and the freight then pending. 1 46 U.S.C. App. § 183. Rule F implements the provisions of the Limitation Act by providing a mechanism for the pro rata distribution among claimants of the fund created by the Limitation Act's liability limits. See Beiswenger Enters. Corp. v. Carletta, 86 F.3d 1032, 1036 (11th Cir.1996), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 2455, 138 L.Ed.2d 213 (1997).
In 1872, the Supreme Court recognized that the Limitation Act did not establish any judicial procedure by which a vessel owner could seek to enforce the Act's liability limits. Norwich & N.Y. Transp. Co. v. Wright, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 104, 123, 20 L.Ed. 585 (1871). To fill this void, the Court set forth a procedure by which vessel owners could initiate a limitation proceeding to establish a concursus of claims. Id. at 124-25. The Court codified this procedure by adding to the Rules of Practice for the Courts of the United States in Admiralty and Maritime Jurisdiction (Admiralty Rules). See Appendix to 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) (1871). Over time, the Admiralty Rules were variously amended, renumbered, and re-labeled. The present form, entitled the Supplemental Rules for Certain Admiralty and Maritime Claims (Rules A-F), was adopted in 1966.
Rule F(1) states that a "vessel owner may file a complaint in the appropriate district court ... for limitation of liability pursuant to statute." Rule F(1) requires the vessel owner to deposit with the district court or a trustee a security in an amount tied to the "value of the owner's interest in the vessel and pending freight." After the shipowner posts security, Rule F(4) instructs the district court to "issue a notice to all persons asserting claims with respect to which the complaint seeks limitation, admonishing them to file their respective claims with the clerk of the court and to serve on the attorneys for the plaintiff a copy thereof on or before a date to be named in the notice." Upon the shipowner's request, Rule F(3) directs the district court to "enjoin the further prosecution of any action or proceeding against the plaintiff or the plaintiff's property with respect to any claim subject to limitation in the action." Claimants asserting valid claims receive a pro rata distribution of "the fund deposited or secured, or the proceeds of the vessel and pending freight." Rule F(8).
OPA 90 explicitly supersedes the Limitation Act's liability limits with respect to claims for cleanup costs and damages resulting from a discharge of oil, and establishes its own schedule of liability limits for damages resulting from the oil discharge. 33 U.S.C. § 2704. The Owners allege their liability is limited under OPA 90 to $1,200 per gross ton per vessel. See 33 U.S.C. § 2704. OPA 90 also explicitly permits states to adopt laws imposing additional liability for oil spills above the liability limits established by OPA 90 and the Limitation Act. 33 U.S.C. § 2718. Consistent with this provision, the Florida Act imposes additional liability for oil spills.
Each Owner's complaint initiated a limitation proceeding in the district court, in which each Owner separately sought exoneration or limitation of their respective liability. The Owners of the petroleum-carrying tank barges sought limitation of liability under the Limitation Act for claims brought pursuant to general maritime and common law, and sought limitation of liability under OPA 90 and the Florida Act for claims resulting from the discharge of oil. The Owner of the freighter sought limitation of liability under the Liability Act only. Notices were issued to potential claimants that all claims against each of the Owners had to be filed in the respective limitation proceeding within 60 days or the right to recover from the Owners would be forfeited. Pursuant to Rule F(3), the district court entered injunctions staying all other proceedings against the Owners in connection with the collision, thereby requiring that claims under OPA 90 and the Florida Act be brought in the limitation proceedings. Each injunction created a concursus of all claims against the respective Owner. The district court consolidated the three limitation actions with four other cases arising out of the collision, thereby creating a single, consolidated proceeding.
The claims filed against the Owners in the limitation proceeding include the following: (1) the Owners' claims against each other under general maritime law, OPA 90, the Florida Act, and common law; (2) one tug crew's claims under general maritime law and the Jones Act for personal injuries; (3) a Coast Guard reservist's claim under general maritime law for injuries resulting from exposure to petroleum during the rescue effort; (4) the United States' claims under general maritime law, common law, and OPA 90 for cleanup costs, damage to natural resources, and response and monitoring costs, as well as subrogation claims pursuant to OPA 90; (5) Florida's claims under OPA 90, the Florida Act, and general maritime law for clean-up costs, damage to natural resources, response costs, and reimbursement costs; and (6) private parties' claims, brought individually and as a purported class, under OPA 90, the Florida Act, common law, and general maritime law for damages suffered as a result of the spills.
This case has a long and complicated procedural history. 2 We are concerned here with three of the district court's rulings. First, the district court ruled...
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