No. 03-15884, 11th Circuit Court of Appeals (filed March 25, 2004).

This is an admiralty case arising out of a steam boiler explosion aboard the S/S NORWAY as it was docked in Miami. Six seamen, all citizens of the Philippines, were killed and four were severely burned. Plaintiffs brought an action under the Jones Act, alleging negligence and unseaworthiness of the vessel. The owners of the vessel moved to dismiss on the basis that the seamen had signed contracts which provided that all claims were to be arbitrated in the Philippines. The district court granted the motion, following a recent 5th Circuit decision in a similar case. 

AAJ and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice submitted a joint amicus brief, written by CCL's Senior Amicus Counsel Jeffrey White and TLPJ’s Kate Gordon, arguing that the intent of Congress in enacting the Jones Act was to safeguard the rights of seamen, traditional wards of the courts, from overreaching by shipowner employers. The brief also argued that the arbitration provisions are also void and unenforceable because they leave plaintiffs without any remedy at all for their tort claims against the vessel owner.

AAJ's Amicus Curiae Brief: Bautista v. Star Cruises and Norwegian Cruise Line, Ltd.