Eta:
Here's the filing where the company, Grace Ocean Private Ltd., asks to cap its liability at $43 million:
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.556480/gov.uscourts.mdd.556480.1.0.pdf
The owner of the ship that toppled Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge appears to be seeking to cap the amount of damages that the company can be forced to pay following the deadly crash.
The Singapore-based Grace Ocean Private Ltd. indicated it will file a “limitation of liability” action in federal court Monday, invoking a little-known statute used in maritime law.
The filing itself is not yet available, but a docket in U.S. District Court in Maryland showed the company has initiated an action involving limitation of liability, a key move that
maritime lawyers said would be likely to take place soon after the disaster.
Under the Limitation of Liability Act of 1851, ship owners can try to stanch the flood of claims after a maritime accident and limit their exposure to the value of the vessel plus its “pending freight.” If successful, the move means Grace Ocean Private Ltd. will be on the hook for far less money than the cost of rebuilding the Key Bridge or other major claims.
At minimum, though, the owner will have to
put up a fund of at least $420 per ton, or nearly $40 million, because this case involves personal injury and death claims. Two construction workers who were on the bridge when it collapsed were found dead in a pickup truck in the Patapsco River; four more are presumed dead and two other workers survived the crash. Members of the ship’s crew were
reported safe.
Once the limitation of liability action is filed, all pending litigation against the ship would be halted and the case would be brought into federal court, where maritime legal issues are handled. People who wish to make claims against the ship would have a set period of time to do so.
The owner of the ship that toppled Baltimore's Key Bridge appears to be seeking to cap the amount of damages that the company can be forced to pay.
thedailyrecord.com