New case from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that involves a collision between a Navy small boat and a barge under tow. Specifically, this opinion addresses the liability of the United States (Navy) to the third party complaint brought by the tug owner. It asserted that the United States was negligent for putting an "incompetent" crew on the Navy small boat. The issue on appeal was the applicability of sovereign immunity.
The opinion is lengthy and I'll have to analyze later, but wanted to get it posted. The case is In re Vulcan Materials Co. v. Cassita Massiah, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 9310 and can be found here.
Comments