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Court rules casino is a `vessel' for legal claim
PREVIOUS VERSION OF THIS STORYRelated Topics: ATLANTA
ATLANTA (Map, News) - The federal appeals court ruled Friday that a Louisiana riverboat casino that broke free from its moorings during Hurricane Katrina is a "vessel" under maritime law, reversing a judge's ruling in a lawsuit that sought $1.5 million in damages to the marina where it was docked.
But the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel said Friday that a federal judge in Alabama was correct to deny the now-defunct Orleans Levee District back rent payments from the Belle of Orleans casino because their lease agreement was not technically a maritime contract.
The district board sued in federal court in Mobile, Ala., where the Belle of Orleans was undergoing repairs in 2006, because federal courts have jurisdiction in maritime disputes.
The Belle of Orleans was docked in New Orleans and sustained heavy damage when Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005. After repairs, it was moved in January 2007 by new owners to St. Mary Parish and renamed the Amelia Belle.
Before the storm, it was docked at the South Shore Harbor marina on Lake Pontchartrain in eastern New Orleans under a long-term lease.
The Orleans Levee District tried to seize the Belle while it was being repaired in Mobile, claiming $1.3 million over nonpayment of rent since Katrina hit. The district then filed an amended complaint asking for $20.6 million in unpaid rent, $1.6 million in unpaid fees and $1.5 million in damages when the casino collided with structures at the marina.
The court in Alabama dismissed the claims, saying that maritime laws did not apply because the casino was not a vessel.
The three-judge 11th Circuit panel said that although the Belle had been moored indefinitely and was tied by cables to the wharf and linked by utility lines it still was a functional boat, was towed to Mobile and capable of being converted to operate on its own.
Although finding the Belle to be a vessel as far as the claim on property damage was concerned, the judges found aspects of the lease agreement that nullified maritime claims.
The entire suit may be moot anyway.
Louisiana's former levee board system has been replaced by two regional superboards now charged strictly with flood protection.
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