the MARY’s famous 1968 grounding that led to the significant 1975 Supreme Court decision U.S. vs Reliable Transfer.

Taking on Blame

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Learn how our ship MARY A. WHALEN is central to the major 1975 Supreme Court decision U.S. vs RELIABLE TRANSFER, related to the MARY’s going aground in 1968. This is a virtual talk with Captain Lawrence Brennan, a Fordham law Professor, and PortSide Executive Director Carolina Salguero. Brennan lectures on RELIABLE TRANSFER regularly and has often litigated the issues from the US Supreme Court decision.  If fact, he worked at the US Department of Justice office that tried the case and handled the appeal.  Brennan and Salguero will be on the MARY A. WHALEN together, allowing you to see some of the ship, and the talk will be experienced on Zoom. This virtual lunchtime presentation is tailored to a general audience and landlubbers, not just admiralty lawyers.

The MARY is significant for her role in the 1975 Supreme Court legal decision U.S. vs Reliable Transfer a major case in US maritime law. This major case is taught to all maritime law students. The MARY went aground on the Rockaways in New York at Christmas time in 1968. A Coast Guard light was out, and the MARY's owners blamed the Coast Guard. The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled in 1975 that in marine accidents, damages should be apportioned according to blame. Sounds logical, but prior to this decision, damages were split 50/50 regardless, and those at fault could shirk the financial consequences of their actions. This 1975 decision overturned US maritime law in effect since 1854 and had the USA finally join maritime practice common in other nations. US Courts had been struggling for decades to make this change, with the famous Judge Learned Hand dismissing US admiralty law on these cases as an "obstinate cleaving to the ancient rule which has been abrogated by nearly all civilized nations."

Thursday, June 10, 12:30-1:30pm

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