The recent case of In re Bonvillian Marine Services, Inc., 19 F.4th 787 (5th Cir. 2021), effectuated a sea change in U.S. Fifth Circuit law on the issue of whether the statutory six-month time limit for a vessel owner to file an action seeking exoneration from or limitation of liability in federal district court is jurisdictional in nature. Examining the effect of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving analogous statutory time limits, the U.S. Fifth Circuit overruled its prior precedent on this issue and held that the six-month time limit was “a mere claim-processing rule which has no bearing on a district court’s subject matter jurisdiction.” DF&K attorneys Michael W. McMahon, Sr. and Kirk N. Aurandt successfully prosecuted the appeal.
- New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Northshore