Monday, July 25, 2011

Another Expansion of Situs?

Wallace (SW) v. Atlantic Container Service, 43 BRBS 118

Stephen Wallace was chassis mechanic at a facility at Fargo Street which was approximately one mile outside of Conley Terminal in Boston Harbor.  The properties adjoining the location were not devoted primarily to maritime commerce

The Board concluded that the facility had both a functional and geographic relationship with the Terminal sufficient to establish it as an “adjoining area.”

The Board relied upon the ALJ’s determination that the facility was used exclusively to repair chassis which were used to transport shipping containers at the Terminal and that this established that the facility had a functional nexus with the loading process performed at the Terminal sufficient to bring it within the scope of Section 3(a).

The Board ruled that the Terminal and facility existed in a common geographic area even though they were separate and relied heavily on the fact that they both had a geographic and functional nexus with the same body of water. Therefore, the Fargo Street facility qualified as an “adjoining area” under Section 3(a).

The Board ruled that Wallace’s injury occurred on a covered situs  - another expansion of the SITUS test.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Longshore Worker Gets 3 Years In Fraud Case

A Rancho Palos Verdes woman

Longshore worker Sheila Burke, 53, was convicted of filing a phony accident claim was sentenced to three years in state prison for refusing to pay $75,000 in restitution.

Despite owning several properties and holding a job, Burke failed to comply with the restitution order. A Rancho Palos Verdes property she owns was valued at $218,000, 

A jury found Burke guilty in 2007 of two counts of insurance fraud and one count of grand theft stemming from insurance claims she filed.  Burke claimed that in November 2006, while working on the docks, she was injured in a collision involving her pickup truck and a tractor-trailer.