Justia Alaska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Railroad conductor Sean Janes was injured while railcars were being loaded onto a barge built to transport railcars and non-rail cargo at the same time. Janes and his family sued the barge owner, alleging that placing cargo across the tracks and failing to provide devices to stop moving railcars from hitting the non-rail cargo made the barge unseaworthy under federal maritime law. After a bench trial, the superior court found that the barge was reasonably fit for its intended purpose and that Janes had not proved that the barge was unseaworthy. On appeal, Janes argued the trial court erred by rejecting his unseaworthiness claim. Because the superior court's findings of fact were not clearly erroneous and because the court committed no legal error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Janes v. Alaska Railbelt Marine, LLC" on Justia Law