When Is a Riverboat Casino No Longer a Maritime Vessel?
A sharply divided panel of Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeal ruled in June that a riverboat casino that had not left its mooring for ten years was no longer a maritime vessel under federal admiralty law. The 3-2 ruling in Breaux v. St. Charles Gaming Co., No 10-1349, followed the reasoning of a federal decision that involved exactly the same boat, De La Rosa v. St. Charles Gaming Co., 474 F.3d 185 (5th Cir.. 2006). The jurisdictional question arose in a personal injury claim brought by a casino patron who fell down a flight of stairs while intoxicated. Barred by Louisiana’s Dram Shop law from suing the casino riverboat under state law, the plaintiff sought recovery under federal maritime law.
The two dissenters insisted that even though the vessel (the M/V Crown) has not left its dock for a decade and is no longer licensed by the Coast Guard, it is still capable of navigation and thus should be viewed a vessel under federal law. “Having the proper paperwork from the Coast Guard,” Judge John D. Saunders wrote in dissent, “is not a factor in whether a watercraft is a ‘vessel’ for federal admiralty jurisdiction purposes.”
