Florida Maritime & Admiralty Law Attorney

Florida is the busiest cruise market on the planet and one of the busiest recreational and commercial maritime jurisdictions in the United States. When something goes wrong on a ship, at a dock, or on the water, the law that applies is rarely simple state negligence. It is general maritime law, federal admiralty rules, carrier contracts written by some of the largest companies in the world, and a tight web of statutory deadlines that most lawyers never see.

Scheer Legal handles three categories of Florida maritime matters: cruise ship passenger injury, maritime liens and vessel arrests, and recreational boating accidents. Federal admiralty jurisdiction is conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 1333; the substantive law is general maritime law supplemented by federal statutes. We litigate in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, and in Florida circuit court when the case belongs there.

Cruise Ship Passenger Injury

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, MSC, Disney, and Virgin all operate large fleets out of South Florida. When a passenger is injured (a slip and fall on a wet deck, a tender or gangway incident, a shore excursion accident, a medical negligence claim against a ship’s medical staff, a sexual assault on board, a food-poisoning outbreak, a missed-port or overboard incident), the rules that apply are very different from a hotel injury on land.

Duty of Care to Passengers

The governing standard for shipboard passenger injury claims is general maritime law: specifically, the duty of reasonable care under the circumstances articulated in Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625 (1959), and the cases that have applied it to modern cruise operations. This is not premises liability and it is not the Jones Act. Knowing the standard, the foreseeability framework, and the notice doctrine matters in every case.

The One-Year Time Bar (And It Is Strict)

Federal law (46 U.S.C. § 30526 (formerly § 30508)) permits cruise carriers to contractually shorten the time a passenger has to give notice of an injury claim to six months, and to file suit to one year. Every major cruise line headquartered in or operating out of South Florida uses those exact limits in its passenger ticket contract. The deadlines are real, they are enforced, and they do not pause for settlement talks or insurance correspondence. If you were hurt on a cruise, the clock is already running.

Forum Selection: Where Your Case Must Be Filed

Passenger tickets also contain forum-selection clauses that designate a specific court. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian all require suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami; Disney requires suit in the Middle District of Florida in Orlando. The Supreme Court upheld these clauses in Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991). Filing in the wrong court costs you the case.

Death on the High Seas Act

When a passenger dies as a result of a wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas (generally more than three nautical miles from any U.S. shore), the Death on the High Seas Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 30301–30308, provides the exclusive federal wrongful-death remedy. DOHSA limits recoverable damages in important ways, so whether a casualty occurred on the high seas or in territorial waters can change everything about a family’s claim.

Limitation of Liability

The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 (46 U.S.C. §§ 30501–30512) allows vessel owners, including cruise lines, to petition federal court to limit their liability to the post-casualty value of the ship plus pending freight, provided the loss occurred without their privity or knowledge. Limitation actions have their own procedure, their own timing, and their own concursus rules. Beating a limitation petition is often a major front in a serious maritime case.

Maritime Liens & Vessel Arrests

A maritime lien is a security interest that attaches to a vessel itself, not to the owner personally, by operation of federal admiralty law. Liens arise in favor of those who supply necessaries (fuel, repairs, supplies, dockage, stevedoring, towage, pilotage, provisioning, crew wages), and they arise from certain tort claims against the vessel. Once a maritime lien exists, the lienholder can sue the vessel in rem, have it arrested by the U.S. Marshal, and ultimately have it sold to satisfy the claim.

Federal Maritime Lien Act

The Federal Maritime Lien Act (46 U.S.C. §§ 31301–31343) governs how maritime liens arise, who is presumed to have authority to bind the vessel, and how lien priorities are sorted out. We represent both claimants asserting liens (suppliers, repairers, charterers, crew, finance providers) and vessel owners or interests defending against unfounded or overstated lien claims.

Vessel Arrest Procedure: Supplemental Admiralty Rule C

Vessel arrests are governed by Supplemental Rule C of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the Supplemental Rules for Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions). The procedure looks roughly like this:

• Verified complaint in rem filed in federal district court.
• Court issues a warrant of arrest.
• U.S. Marshal physically arrests the vessel; a substitute custodian typically takes day-to-day custody (because the Marshal will not run a ship).
• Vessel owner posts security, usually a bond or letter of undertaking equal to the claim plus interest and costs, to release the vessel.
• If no one appears, or the claim is established, the court can order the ship sold at U.S. Marshal’s sale and distribute proceeds to lienholders in admiralty priority order.

Done correctly, an arrest is the most powerful collection tool in any commercial context: you literally take the ship until you are paid. Done incorrectly, it is wrongful arrest with real exposure. The procedure has to be right.

Recreational Boating Accidents

Florida leads the country in registered recreational vessels and in reported recreational boating accidents. We represent injured passengers, operators, and families in cases involving:

• Powerboat, sailboat, and yacht collisions.
• Jet ski and personal watercraft accidents.
• Charter and bareboat charter incidents.
• Dive boat and snorkel excursion injuries (Florida Keys and elsewhere).
• Fishing charter and head-boat incidents.
• Wake, propeller, and overboard cases.
• Alcohol-related boating crashes.

Many recreational vessel cases sit at the intersection of federal admiralty jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1333), Florida’s Vessel Safety Law (Chapter 327, Florida Statutes), and ordinary Florida negligence law. Picking the right forum, the right body of law, and the right defendants early in the case is often the difference between a clean recovery and a hard fight. We do that work up front.

Where We Practice in Florida

Federal admiralty cases require federal court: specifically, an admiralty division of the U.S. district court that covers the relevant geography. We practice in:

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

Divisions in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Key West. Covers Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe Counties, including PortMiami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach, and the cruise terminals at Key West.

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Divisions in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, and Ocala. Covers Hillsborough, Brevard, Duval, Orange, Lee, and Marion Counties, including Port Tampa Bay, Port Canaveral, and JAXPORT.

Florida State Courts

Florida circuit court for recreational boating, charter dispute, and related cases that don’t require federal admiralty jurisdiction. The combination of state and federal coverage means we can take a Florida maritime matter from any port or any anchorage in the state.

Why Scheer Legal vs. a Big Maritime Firm

Florida’s biggest maritime firms work for the cruise lines, the insurers, and the vessel interests. Their entire business model is built around defending those carriers. We don’t take that work. When you call Scheer Legal, you get a single attorney on your file from day one, not an associate buried inside a 200-lawyer firm. We handle the cases other firms turn away (claims that are big enough to matter but not the headline catastrophe), and we go up against the carriers and their counsel directly.

On the lien and arrest side, our advantage is speed. Maritime liens and vessel arrests are about getting to the ship, literally, before it sails. Boutique structure lets us move that fast.

Maritime cases are won and lost on three things: deadlines, forum, and who knew what when. We treat each of them like it’s the case.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to sue a cruise line after a passenger injury?

Federal law (46 U.S.C. § 30526 (formerly § 30508)) lets carriers contractually limit a passenger’s time to give notice and to file suit, with statutory minimums of six months for notice and one year for suit on personal-injury or death claims. Virtually every major cruise line (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL, MSC, Disney, Virgin) sets those exact limits in the passenger ticket contract. Miss them and the case is gone.

Where do cruise injury cases have to be filed?

Cruise tickets typically include a forum-selection clause that designates a specific federal court. Most major lines headquartered in South Florida (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, NCL) require suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida in Miami. The Supreme Court enforced those clauses in Carnival Cruise Lines v. Shute, 499 U.S. 585 (1991), so getting venue right matters.

What is a maritime lien and who can assert one?

A maritime lien is a security interest in a vessel that arises automatically by operation of admiralty law in favor of those who supply necessaries (fuel, repairs, dockage, stevedoring, crew wages, etc.) or who have certain tort claims against the vessel. The Federal Maritime Lien Act (46 U.S.C. §§ 31301–31343) governs how the lien arises, who can assert it, and how it is enforced against the ship itself, in rem, by an arrest of the vessel in federal court.

How does a vessel arrest actually work?

An in rem action is filed in U.S. district court under Supplemental Admiralty Rule C. After the complaint, the court issues a warrant of arrest and the U.S. Marshal physically arrests the vessel, and a substitute custodian usually takes day-to-day custody. The vessel owner has to post a bond or surety equal to the claim plus interest and costs to release the ship. If the owner doesn’t appear, the court can sell the vessel and pay claimants in priority order.

Do you handle recreational boating accidents in Florida?

Yes: jet ski collisions, recreational vessel crashes, dive-boat and charter incidents, and passenger injuries on private vessels. Many of these cases sit at the intersection of federal admiralty jurisdiction (28 U.S.C. § 1333), Florida’s Vessel Safety Law (Chapter 327, Florida Statutes), and standard Florida negligence law. Picking the right forum and the right body of law early can change the outcome.

What is the Jones Act and does it apply to passengers?

No. The Jones Act (46 U.S.C. § 30104) is a federal statute that gives seamen, vessel crew, not passengers, a negligence cause of action against their employers. Passenger injury cases are governed by general maritime law and the duty of reasonable care articulated in Kermarec v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, 358 U.S. 625 (1959), not the Jones Act.

What is the Death on the High Seas Act?

The Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA, 46 U.S.C. §§ 30301–30308) provides a federal wrongful-death remedy when a death is caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas (generally more than three nautical miles from any U.S. shore. DOHSA limits recoverable damages, and whether it applies materially changes what a family can recover after a fatal cruise or maritime incident.

Can a cruise line really cap its own liability?

Sometimes. The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 (46 U.S.C. §§ 30501–30512) lets vessel owners seek to limit their liability to the post-casualty value of the vessel plus pending freight, provided the loss occurred without their privity or knowledge. Limitation actions are filed in federal court and have their own procedure and timing requirements. Beating a limitation petition often turns on what the operator knew or should have known.

What’s your fee structure on maritime cases?

It depends on the case. Cruise passenger injury and recreational boating injury matters are typically handled on contingency, no fee unless we recover. Maritime lien enforcement and vessel arrest work is usually hourly or flat-fee depending on scope. We quote it in writing before any engagement is signed.

Where in Florida do you practice maritime law?

Federal admiralty practice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Key West) and the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Ocala). Florida state court for boating accident and related claims that don’t require federal jurisdiction. That coverage reaches every major Florida cruise port, PortMiami, Port Everglades, Port of Palm Beach, Port Canaveral, Port Tampa Bay, JAXPORT, plus the Florida Keys.