Biloxi Maritime Law Attorneys

Maritime law, also known as admiralty law, is the body of U.S. and international law that governs legal issues arising on navigable waters, including shipping contracts, vessel registration, marine insurance, oil spills, and personal injury claims such as Jones Act and diving accident cases. Although admiralty law traditionally applied to the open ocean, its reach today extends to any public navigable waterway, including rivers and lakes, making it central to commerce and recreation throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

As one of the oldest law firms in Mississippi, Rushing & Guice has deep historical ties to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi’s water-based economy. So much of the region’s business and recreation is connected to the water, and our maritime practice reflects that deep connection representing both plaintiffs and defendants in complex maritime disputes in state and federal courts across the Gulf Coast.

Experienced Maritime Attorneys Serving the Gulf Coast of Mississippi

Our Mississippi maritime and admiralty attorneys bring decades of experience and are well-versed in the unique procedures and laws that govern maritime claims under U.S. admiralty jurisdiction. We handle a wide range of maritime legal matters, including:

• Cargo damage and shipping disputes
• Vessel collisions and allisions
• Jones Act and general maritime personal injury claims
• Injuries sustained on navigable waters, at sea, or in port
• Claims involving tugs, towage operations, and harbor workers
• Marine insurance coverage and denial disputes
• Limitation of liability actions for vessel owners
• Vessel mortgage enforcement and maritime liens
• Vessel seizures and federal maritime arrest proceedings

Whether you’re a shipowner, injured seaman, marine insurer, harbor employer, or business involved in commercial shipping, our team is equipped to protect your interests in the highly technical and often high-stakes arena of admiralty law.

What Is Maritime Law in Mississippi?

Maritime law, also known as admiralty law, governs legal matters related to navigation, commerce, injuries, and disputes that occur on or near navigable waters. As one of the oldest and most specialized branches of law, maritime law applies to activities on the high seas, inland waterways, and U.S. coastal regions, including the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

This area of law includes a wide range of legal issues—such as vessel collisions, cargo disputes, offshore injuries, commercial shipping contracts, and environmental violations. Maritime law draws from U.S. federal statutes, international treaties, and long-established legal principles to regulate the conduct of individuals, companies, and vessels operating on navigable waters.

At Rushing & Guice, our attorneys bring decades of experience in handling maritime cases, offering knowledgeable representation to shipowners, workers, insurers, and businesses involved in the marine industry throughout the Mississippi Gulf Coast and beyond.

Expertise in Mississippi Admiralty and Maritime Courts

Because admiralty laws are very specialized, attorneys who practice in this area must possess the experience and knowledge to effectively represent their maritime clients or those who have been injured or suffered losses at sea. At Rushing & Guice, we have built a successful admiralty practice that encompasses all aspects of maritime law.

Our maritime attorneys have years of experience practicing in Admiralty and Maritime Courts, where all maritime contracts, offenses, injuries, and torts, and all civil actions for matters related to the sea and ships, are litigated.

Our experience includes representing clients involved in boating accidents, groundings, collisions, offshore employment injuries, and spills as well as contract disputes that arise from maritime commerce.

Maritime and Admiralty Federal Statutes We Handle

The maritime industry is regulated by a number statutes passed by Congress, intended to maintain the safety of offshore, shipbuilding, and other maritime work. These statutes are:

Jones Act

The Jones Act holds vessel owners and supervisors responsible for maintaining equipment and creating a safe work environment. Under common law, ship owners were responsible for compensating workers for injuries without regard to fault. However, the extent of recovery was limited. The Jones Act provides for greater compensation in the event that the shipowner created and maintained an unsafe work environment.

Successful plaintiffs are entitled to lost wages, lost earning capacity, physical and mental anguish, medical care compensation into the future, and living expenses during recovery.

Death on the High Seas Act

This law provides a cause of action in wrongful death for passengers on vessels operating outside the three-mile coastal limit. Fault must be proven. The Jones Act covers the workers and this statute covers the non-employees who might be killed due to unsafe conditions on vessels. However, this statute does not compensate for a full range of loss.

There is no recovery for loss of companionship, pain and suffering, lost earning potential, or future medical expenses.

Limitation of Liability Act

This 1851 act limits the liability of a shipowner to the value of the ship and its cargo at the time of the accident if it can be shown that the owner was unaware of the conditions that caused the injury or death of workers or passengers. The law has been highly criticized as obsolete, however, it still acts to limit the amount of damages available to injured parties.

A Jones Act claim alleges that a vessel owner’s negligence caused a seaman’s injury, while an unseaworthiness claim alleges that the vessel itself — its equipment, crew, or condition — was not reasonably fit for its intended use. The two claims arise from different legal theories and are often brought together in the same case.

What Is Vessel Unseaworthiness?

Unseaworthiness is a doctrine under general maritime law, established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Mitchell v. Trawler Racer, Inc., that holds a vessel owner strictly liable when a ship, its gear, or its crew is not reasonably fit for its intended purpose, regardless of whether the owner was negligent or even knew about the defect. Common examples include:

• Defective or poorly maintained equipment and machinery
• Inadequate or improperly trained crew
• Unsafe walking or working surfaces aboard the vessel
• Insufficient safety gear or faulty rigging
• Overloaded or improperly stowed cargo affecting vessel stability

Because unseaworthiness is a strict liability standard, an injured seaman does not need to prove the shipowner was negligent. Only that an unsafe condition existed and caused the injury.

Can You File Both a Jones Act and an Unseaworthiness Claim?

Yes. Seamen injured aboard a vessel frequently pursue Jones Act negligence and general maritime law unseaworthiness claims together, since each covers different aspects of a shipowner’s responsibility and can increase the scope of recoverable damages. An experienced maritime attorney can evaluate which claims apply and how they interact in a specific case.

Maritime Business and Finance Transactions

Rushing & Guice’s maritime attorneys bring deep experience to the full range of maritime financial and business transactions that affect companies operating along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and beyond. The firm advises clients on the specialized body of federal laws and regulations that govern the maritime industry, helping businesses structure deals with confidence and stay compliant with the rules unique to maritime commerce.

The firm represents shipowners, operators, managers, brokers, and charterers; financial institutions and private equity investors; shipyards, stevedores, and terminal operators; port authorities; marine equipment manufacturers; marine insurers; and offshore oil and gas companies.

Rushing & Guice negotiates, structures, and documents complex maritime financial and business transactions, and advises on the related tax, regulatory, and insurance issues that come with them, including Capital Construction Fund requirements, vessel citizenship and cabotage compliance, and U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Title XI ship financing, as well as restructurings and workouts involving marine assets.

Representative Maritime Transactional Services

• Asset-based secured marine lending, leveraged lease transactions, and loan syndications
• Asset and stock purchases and sales involving vessels, marine equipment, shipyards, and marine terminalsNegotiating, drafting, and closing marine
• terminal agreements, vessel charters, vessel management agreements, stevedoring contracts, contracts of affreightment, vessel construction contracts, and terminal development agreements
• Representing shipowners and lenders in Capital Construction Fund (CCF) transactions and U.S. Maritime Administration Title XI ship financing
• Vessel registration and documentation under U.S. and foreign flag requirements
• Restructurings and workouts involving marine assets

Determining Jurisdiction a Maritime Case

In most instances, federal maritime law overrides state law, to ensure uniformity in interpreting the law and enforcing accountability on the nation’s waterways. Maritime contracts are particularly important to commerce, yet which court has jurisdiction over maritime contracts is a complex and nuanced determination. For example, a contract to build a ship is not usually litigated in a specialized federal maritime court whereas a contract to repair a ship is. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit whose jurisdiction extends to the Gulf States of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi has developed a two-part test to determine in which court contractual claims can be resolved.

The court will determine whether the contract provides services to facilitate the drilling of the production of oil and gas on navigable waters. If so, the court will determine whether the contract provides or the parties expect that a vessel will play a substantial role in the completion of the contract. In cases not related to oil and gas exploration and development, the court will consider the nature and extent of the involvement of the vessel crew in carrying out the services anticipated in the contract.

Admiralty and Maritime Law is Still Evolving

Although one of the oldest areas of law, admiralty, and maritime law continues to evolve. Most recently, in 2019, the United States Supreme Court reconciled two prior decisions, ruling that punitive damages are not available to an injured seaman claiming injury due to vessel unseaworthiness. Keeping up with the areas where maritime law is continuing to change to meet new circumstances is something that our lawyers take seriously.

With over 100 years of experience representing Gulf Coast Mississippi clients, we have the expertise to follow and, in some instances, press for novel interpretations of federal and state maritime laws.

Contact Rushing & Guice For Help Today

At Rushing & Guice, experienced, aggressive, and innovative legal services on the Gulf Coast are a phone call away. Call us at (228) 374-2313 or fill out our online form to arrange for a limited initial consultation. We look forward to hearing from you and look forward to the opportunity to serve as your attorneys.