SCOTUS Will Hear $143 Million CITGO Oil Spill Case

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed today to hear CITGO’s appeal over $143 million in oil spill cleanup costs caused when a submerged anchor pierced a tanker as it approached a New Jersey refinery.

The April 22 decision to take up the case means the high court will wade into a circuit split over the standard of care terminal owners owe in assuring a safe berth for vessel operators to unload cargo.

Safe berth clauses are common in maritime contracts and are designed to assure a ship’s safety, but federal circuit courts have disagreed about what duty terminal and dock owners ...