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Bank of America N.A. v. Pacific Lady

United States District Court for the Western District of Washington
2001 AMC 727 (2000)

Written by Alex Ruskell, JD

Facts

Alaskan Observers, Inc. (Alaskan) (plaintiff) sought to establish that its maritime lien against the Pacific Lady (defendant) had priority over maritime-lien claims by other parties. Federal law provided that preferred maritime liens had priority over all other types of maritime liens. A preferred maritime lien included a maritime lien based upon unpaid “wages of the crew of the vessel.” Under federal law, certain fishing vessels had to have observers on board. Alaskan provided the observers for the Pacific Lady. Federal regulations explicitly provided that it was unlawful for an observer to be required to cook, stand watch, or do other duties associated with the processing of fish. Alaskan believed Pacific Lady owed Alaskan money for providing the observers. Pacific Lady responded that the observers were not members of the crew covered by the Federal Maritime Lien Act, so any lien for the observers’ pay would not receive priority.

Rule of Law

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Issue

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Holding and Reasoning (Pechman, J.)

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