Louisiana Federal Court Dismisses Claim for Punitive Damages in Jones Act Case

NEW ORLEANS –– A Louisiana federal court has awarded a benzene defendant partial summary judgment, finding that the plaintiff is barred from recovering punitive damages under the Jones Act.

In the Sept. 24 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana declined to apply a recent ruling that would have permitted recovery of such damages, noting the claims in that case were not brought under the Jones Act, but instead general maritime law.

Stephen Scott filed the lawsuit, contending that while working as a seaman on board Cenac Towing Co. LLC and Settoon Towing LLC vessels, …