Louisiana Riverboat Casino Law
Law & Regulations. Gaming Law; Gaming Regulations. Current Regulations; Emergency Regulations; Newly Adopted Regulations; Proposed Regulations; License & Permit Forms. Audit Forms; Indian Forms; Licensing Forms; Technical Forms; Board Meetings. Meeting Dates; Agenda for Upcoming Meeting; Agendas for Past Meetings; Minutes for Past Meetings. Caldwell is significant because it resolves the classification of permanently moored Louisiana riverboat casinos under federal maritime law. Although such a riverboat casino is not a vessel for purposes of federal maritime law, it nevertheless qualifies as a vessel under the Louisiana Gaming Control Law.
On July 3, 2019, the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Lake Charles rendered judgement on a dispute over the status of riverboat casinos as “vessels.” This is important because the plaintiff, who sustained injuries while operating a scissor lift on a riverboat casino moored in Lake Charles, filed his suit under the Jones Act. The Jones Act provides special privileges, protections, and avenues of recovery to injured seamen. The defendant, the owner of the floating casino, filed a motion for summary judgement alleging that the plaintiff is not a Jones Act seaman because he had no connection to a vessel in navigation that was substantial in nature and he was never exposed to the dangers of the sea. The plaintiff filed a cross motion in reply. Both motions were denied by the trial court, and the court of appeal agreed to hear the case on supervisory writs.
The defendant argued that the trial court failed to follow the court of appeal’s controlling precedent from a previous case that held riverboat casinos are not vessels and their workers are not Jones Act seamen. In the present matter, the court of appeal held differently, finding that the U.S. Supreme Court’s test for vessel status in Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 568 U.S. 115, 133 S.Ct. 735 (2013), mandates that a river boat casino must be considered a vessel. Lozman states that vessel status centers on whether the structure is capable of being used as a means of transportation on water and a reasonable observer “looking to the structure’s physical characteristics and activities, would consider it designed to a practical degree for carrying people or things over water.”
Thecourt reasoned that the riverboat the plaintiff worked on had not been removedfrom navigation, laid up, or mothballed. Also, the defendant spendsconsiderable time and expense to ensure the riverboat remains capable ofoperation per the requirements of La.R.S. 27:44. The riverboat is connected tothe dock by temporary connections and gangways designed to be lifted andretracted. It could be made ready to sail in thirty minutes, per evidence inthe record.
Casino Boats In Louisiana
Riverboat Casino Near Me
Thecourt held the amount of time spent moored and docked in one location is notrelevant to the ability of a watercraft to be a vessel able to set sail. Also, awatercraft that is capable of transportation, but has been docked and notremoved from navigation, is a vessel in navigation for the purposes of maritimelaw. The court of appeal held the casino is a vessel and that the plaintiff isa Jones Act seaman. It remains to be seen whether the defendant will seekfurther review in the Louisiana Supreme Court or U.S. Supreme Court.