Fifth Circuit En Banc Simplifies Rule for Identifying Maritime Contracts in the Oilfield
The Fifth Circuit en banc has handed down an historic re-working of the test for determining whether oilfield contracts are maritime or non-maritime in nature, according to a Baker Donelson post.
Christopher Hannan writes that the en banc decision in In Re Larry Doiron, Inc. simplifies decades’ worth of confusing and often inconsistent jurisprudence to give a more streamlined and hopefully predictable rule for determining whether oilfield contracts are maritime or not.
He quotes the en banc ruling:
First, is the contract one to provide services to facilitate the drilling or production of oil and gas on navigable waters? . . . Second, if the answer to the above question is “yes,” does the contract provide or do the parties expect that a vessel will play a substantial role in the completion of the contract? If so, the contract is maritime in nature.