Towing Company: Benzene Co-Defendant Owes Reimbursement as Prior Employer, Joint Tortfeasor

NEW ORLEANS –– A towing defendant has maintained its position that its co-defendant in a benzene action owes it reimbursement, arguing that “it is well settled” that the owner of the first vessel on which a seaman sustains alleged injuries is obligated to pay maintenance and cure costs.

In the Dec. 18 reply brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Settoon Towing reiterates that “in a situation where there is a concurrent obligation between two vessel owners to pay maintenance and cure, the obligation should be shared between those parties.”

“If the obligation is …