Singaporean firm whose ship took down the Baltimore bridge just cited an 1851 maritime law to cap liability at $44 million

The companies filed under a pre-Civil War provision of an 1851 maritime law that allows them to seek to limit their liability to the value of the vessel’s remains after a casualty. It’s a mechanism that has been employed as a defense in many of the most notable maritime disasters, said James Mercante, a New York City-based attorney with over 30 years of experience in maritime law.

A report from credit rating agency Morningstar DBRS predicts the bridge collapse could become the most expensive marine insured loss in history, $2 billion to $4 billion.

Cases like this typically take years to completely resolve, said Martin Davies, director of Tulane University Law School’s Maritime Law Center.   

https://fortune.com/2024/04/01/baltimore-francis-scott-key-bridge-liability-cap-44-million-singapore/