Continuedfrompage58
upper deck. The ship sometimes
had a rope fence along the
walkway. On a few occasions
before this injury, during the
unloading process, Troutman and
other longshoremen asked the ship
owner to put up the rope fence
for safety and it was put up. This
time, no one asked, the rope fence
was not put up, and Troutman fell
off the walkway and was seriously
injured. He admitted that he had
worked on this specific vessel on
more than 20 occasions in the
past, and he knew the walkway
was unsafe. He also admitted
that he was not obligated to put
himself in danger to perform the
job. His supervisor at Eller, the
employer/stevedore, said they
had appropriate supplies and
equipment and would have put
up a rope fence if he had asked.
Instead of reducing the verdict
by the contributory negligence
of the longshoreman, or the
employer stevedore, the Eleventh
Circuit held that the shipowner
has no duty to a stevedore or
longshoreman to correct an open
and obvious danger before turning
the ship over, another limitation
on the scope of liability under
Section 905(b).
We hope to see you at the
luncheon in October, details will
follow on whether it will be live
or virtual. n
1
Hale v. BAE Sys. San Francisco
Ship Repair, Inc., No. 18-72869, 801
Fed. Appx. 600, 601 (9th Cir. 2020).
2
Estate of Cowart v. Nickolos
Drilling, 505 U.S. 469, 470-471 (1992).
3
958 F. 3d 1143 (11th Cir. 2020).
Author: Anthony V. Cortese –
Attorney at Law
Three HCBA Members
Recognized at Florida Bar
Annual Convention
attheFloridabar’sannualConventioninJune,threeHCba
memberswerehonoredfortheirleadershipandcommunity
service.vivianCortez-Hodz,aHCbaboardmember,receiveda
president’sawardofMeritfromoutgoingFloridabarpresident
Vivian Cortez-Hodz
JohnStewart.duringhispresentation,StewartsaidthatHodz,
apartnerwithlocalfirmCortesHodzFamilylaw&Mediation,
deservestherecognitionforherserviceaschairofboththe
annualConventionandvoluntarybarliaisoncommittees.
thepandemicforcedHodztoscrapnearlyayearof
planningandrepurposetheconventionfora“virtual
experience,”Stewartsaid.“withouthesitationvivianrallied
thecommitteeandstaffattheFloridabartoassurethatin
theextraordinarilyshorttimegiven,thefirsteverFloridabar Theresa Jean-Pierre Coy
virtualannualConventionwouldbearousingsuccess.”
Hodzalsomadeadifficultcalltocancelthevoluntarybar
leadersConferenceandreplaceitwithaseriesofevents
throughoutthenextyearthatwillservetheneedsofnearly
300voluntarybarleaders.
anotherveryworthyHCbamember,theresaJean-pierre
Coy,wasnamedtherecipientoftheg.kirkHaasHumanitarian
award.duringhisremarksinpresentingthisaward,Stewart
Hon. Elizabeth G. Rice
said“thistampalawyer,whoalsoteachesclassesather
almamater—StetsonlawSchool—andwhoisaformer
assistantpublicdefender,istheepitomeofpersonalandprofessionalcourageandof
dedicatedservicetothelegalcommunity.”
Stewartrecountedhowthe39-year-oldbreastcancersurvivor,motherofayoungtoddler,
andwifeofaprosecutorfoughtforclientsincourtandperformedcountlesshoursofbar
servicewhileundergoingextensivetreatmentandsurgery.
“theresaisaformerpresidentofthegeorgeedgecombbarassociationand,earlier
thisyear,sheco-chairedtheFloridabarSoloandSmallFirmSection’sannualconference,
itslargesteventoftheyear,”Stewartsaid.“theresaspeaksoutaboutherhealth
challengessothatotherlawyerswilllearnfromherexperiencesandtaketheirhealth
andwellnessseriously.”
thethirdHCbarecipient,13thCircuitJudgeelizabethg.rice,receivedtheoutstanding
womanlawyerofachievementawardfromtheFloridabaryounglawyersdivision.the
awardrecognizes“awomanlawyerorjudgewhoexcelsinherfield,possessesanexcellent
reputationforintegrity,exhibitsdedicationtohercommunityandherprofessionthrough
bar-relatedorsimilaractivitiesandwhodemonstratesacommitmenttothesuccessand
advancementofyoungwomenlawyers.”
rice,the2001-02yldpresident,waselectedaHillsboroughCountycourtjudgein2005
andhasbeenonthecircuitbenchsince2009.Shehasservedinnumerousorganizations,
includingwiththeHCba,theSupremeCourtCommissiononprofessionalism,aswellasthe
yldandbarboardsofgovernors.
Congratulationstothesethreeoutstandingmembersontheirwell-deservedawards!
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