Published by The Pellegrin Firm July 25, 2019

The Jones Act provides maritime workers with special avenues of recovery and other special protections. In passing the Jones Act, Congress recognized that working on a vessel is an unusually dangerous job than can lead to serious disability and injury. This also means the courts are especially hesitant to enforce unfair releases of Jones Act rights.

Of course, if a release is knowing and fair, the courts should enforce it, as no employer would ever settle with a Jones Act seaman otherwise. The courts look to whether the seaman had good medical and legal advice at the time he signed the release, the consideration given for the release, the circumstances of the release, and whether the seaman understood what he was giving up.

In the case of from Double J. Marine, LLC v. Nuber, 2013 WL 6502866, at *3 (E.D. La. 2013) Judge Feldman of the Eastern District of Louisiana denied summary judgment on a defendant’s argument a seaman validly released his claims, noting that the seaman only had a 10th grade education and there were facts in dispute as to whether the seaman understood the legal consequences of the release. In addition, it does not appear the seaman understood the severity of his medical condition (it had not yet been diagnosed). Finally, consideration of only $530 seemed woefully inadequate.

A similar result was reached in New Jersey last year in the case of Greene v. Sea Harvest Inc.,  Docket No. 1:17-cv-04104-NLH-JS in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.