MaritimeFedWatch

In the continuing litigation saga flowing from the July 2008 collision between the M/V TINTOMARA and the barge DM 932 on the Mississippi River near New Orleans, on September 19, 2016, Judge Ivan Lemelle of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana issued another important ruling bearing ultimately on the practical ability of oil spill response organizations (OSROs) to recover compensation from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund (the “Fund”) pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) in circumstances where the responsible party has not paid them for cleaning up the spill. 

On October 8, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that an action for an oil pollution claim is barred unless it is first presented to the responsible party at least 90 days before the expiration of the three-year limitation period. The court also held that the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 does not impose any specific requirements for such claims beyond a statement of a request for a sum certain for compensation for damage or removal costs from an incident of oil pollution.