In re Denet Towing Services, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
178 Fed. Appx. 427, 2006 AMC 1517 (2006)

- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Denet Towing Services, Inc. (Denet) (defendant) operated a tugboat in the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. Denet’s tug picked up a barge loaded with chemical cargo and owned by Halliburton Co. (plaintiff) from a Halliburton facility and proceeded to tow the barge. As the tug was towing the barge in a channel, the barge suddenly listed to one side, and the bow of the barge began to submerge. Most of the cargo on the barge broke free and fell overboard. Halliburton sued Denet, alleging that Denet had been negligent. The evidence seemed to establish that the barge had not hit anything or run aground but rather had pre-existing cracks and holes that caused it to list. The evidence also showed that the captain of the tug had committed a number of non-navigational regulatory violations prior to the accident, such as being on duty longer than was legally allowed. The district court held for Denet. Halliburton appealed, alleging that under the rule of The Pennsylvania, Denet should have been required to prove that its statutory violations could not have been a cause of the accident.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)
What to do next…
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.