US Jones Act - Attorneys’ fees

In a recent case before the District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana the District Judge awarded $10,000 attorneys’ fees against a Jones Act seaman’s employer after the jury had found the employer had acted wilfully and arbitrarily when it terminated maintenance and cure benefits. This was in addition to the jury’s award of $7,918 for unpaid maintenance at $12 per day and $11,550 for damages, other than attorneys’ fees, resulting from “refusal to continue to pay maintenance and cure” when it was terminated about three months after the injury and before surgery for a ruptured lumbar disc. The jury also found $412,098 in general damages under the Jones Act. The Court assessed the rate for attorneys’ fees at $150 per hour and found that 66 2/3 hours were attributable to the maintenance and cure issues in the case (as distinct from the unspecified hours spent preparing the closely related Jones Act claim). ( Holmes v. McDermott - 26 April 1983.)