Tuesday, December 03, 2013
An Alabama judge delayed the trial set for Monday in a lawsuit crew members filed against two shipping companies after pirates seized a U.S. cargo ship off the coast of Somalia in 2009, an attack portrayed in the recent movie "Captain Phillips."
Mobile County Circuit Judge Michael A. Youngpeter postponed the case because attorneys for crew members of the Maersk Alabama are entering mediation talks this month with lawyers for the shipping companies, a court official said.
The move means the lawsuit could end without a full-blown presentation before jurors if mediation succeeds, but a trial also remains possible next summer, said an aide to the judge.
Crew members are suing Maersk Line Ltd. and the Mobile-based Waterman Steamship Corp. over the attack that was dramatized in the recent Hollywood drama starring Tom Hanks. The five-day standoff ended when Navy SEALs shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding Capt. Richard Phillips in a lifeboat.
The crew members are not suing Phillips, but the captain gave sworn testimony last year about what happened, records show.
While the movie portrayed Phillips as a hero, the lawsuit
contends the Alabama was sailing too close to the Somalian coast when
pirates boarded and took it over on April 8, 2009. Maritime warnings
told ships to remain at least 600 miles off the Somalian coast because
of piracy threats, yet the Alabama was just 250 miles from the coast when it was attacked, the suit claims.
Nine crew members in the lawsuit filed last year say they
suffered physical and emotional injuries after Somali pirates boarded.
Some crew members were held at gunpoint with Phillips, and others hid in
an engine room.
Maersk has denied the claims about the ship's proximity
to the coast, and it argues that the Somali pirates were criminals and
are responsible for any harm to the crew members.
Court
documents show Waterman had chartered the ship from Maersk, and the
company has adopted many of the arguments made in court documents by
Maersk.
The lawsuit doesn't seek a specific amount of money, but a
similar case filed in Virginia over the attack sought $50 million.
Records show the Virginia case was put on hold, and a Texas lawsuit is
being shelved, as both sides agreed to allow the Alabama case to take
precedence.
The crew members are not suing Phillips, but the captain gave sworn testimony last year about what happened, records show.
While the movie portrayed Phillips as a hero, the lawsuit
contends the Alabama was sailing too close to the Somalian coast when
pirates boarded and took it over on April 8, 2009. Maritime warnings
told ships to remain at least 600 miles off the Somalian coast because
of piracy threats, yet the Alabama was just 250 miles from the coast when it was attacked, the suit claims.
Nine crew members in the lawsuit filed last year say they
suffered physical and emotional injuries after Somali pirates boarded.
Some crew members were held at gunpoint with Phillips, and others hid in
an engine room.
Maersk has denied the claims about the ship's proximity
to the coast, and it argues that the Somali pirates were criminals and
are responsible for any harm to the crew members.
Court
documents show Waterman had chartered the ship from Maersk, and the
company has adopted many of the arguments made in court documents by
Maersk.
The lawsuit doesn't seek a specific amount of money, but a
similar case filed in Virginia over the attack sought $50 million.
Records show the Virginia case was put on hold, and a Texas lawsuit is
being shelved, as both sides agreed to allow the Alabama case to take
precedence.
At least five corporate executives or crew members still must give sworn
testimony, plus one of the Somali pirates who was captured.