Crain
NEW ORLEANS (Legal Newsline) - Louisiana’s highest court reversed a $6 million verdict stemming from the collision of two of the state’s most important industries, oyster fishing and commercial shipping. The court cited unreliable testimony from a plaintiff expert who lacked the proper background to testify that silt from a grounded tugboat decimated oyster production across a large area.
Plaintiff Marty Melerine held about 500 acres of oyster leases in the shallow waters of Christmas Lake near New Orleans in 2016 when the tugboat tried to cut across the oyster grounds for repairs on a malfunctioning engine. The 60-foot craft, with twin propellers nearly four feet in diameter, got stuck on an oyster “reef” and tried to free itself with the thrust of the engine but failed, waiting until high tide floated the boat the following day.