Aviation and Admiralty tort litigation arises from the Government's varied activities in the operation of the air traffic control system, the regulation of air commerce, weather services, aeronautical charting, and the government's own civil and military aircraft.  Numerous cases also arise from the extensive flight activities of private, business, and military aircraft.  Cases have ranged from the Korean Air/Guam crash to the Cavalese cable‑car accident.  The office=s admiralty practice is diverse, with cases ranging from oil spills, ship collisions and groundings, to cargo damage cases, damaged sea grass beds, search and rescue, and injured seaman and shore worker cases.

Examples of our practice

Admiralty cases                                                     

Examples of admiralty cases include the dramatic oil spill of the EXXON VALDEZ Alaska, the grounding of the QE II off Cape Cod, the unsuccessful rescue of the passengers on the MORNING DEW and the Zuanich ship mortgage foreclosure cases.  When the EXXON VALDEZ lost over one million gallons of oil in Prince William sound in 1989, the Civil Division joined with the Environment and Natural Resources Division and various criminal prosecuting offices to recover over $1 billion in damages and fines.  As a result of the incident, Congress enacted the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, under which the Civil Division has since been involved in recovery of clean‑up costs for several large pollution incidents.

The QE II litigation addressed the responsibilities of the government when it charts United States navigable waters, the obligations of ship captains who operate vessels in those waters, and whether on‑board businesses can recover for consequential losses arising from down‑time for repairs.  The MORNING DEW, which was featured on the news show "20/20," implicated the Search and Rescue mission of the Coast Guard.  Issues included the duties and capabilities of the Coast Guard in search and rescue activities, the effect of hypothermia on potential survivors and wrongful death damages.  The Zuanich cases involved mortgages on tuna fishing boats and other collateral property brought in San Diego, American Samoa, Guam, and New Zealand, wherein the U.S. recovered approximately $28.7 million.

Aviation cases

From dramatic accidents such as the Space Shuttle COLUMBIA and Friendly Fire incidents to mass disasters such as the crash of Korean Airlines Flight 801, killing 228 of the 254 passengers and crew aboard, aviation litigation specialists are regularly involved in protecting the national security interests of the government.  Aviation attorneys defend federal employees whose acts of negligence are alleged to cause personal injury, wrongful death and property damage in aviation torts.  In addition to these labor-intensive cases, the staff handles a significant number of cases arising from the activities of general aviation aircraft.  Legal issues such as privileges and immunities provide unique challenges in addition to handling this exciting area of tort practice.