United States v. M/V Big Sam

Section 311(f) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) stated that dischargers were liable without fault up to the liability limits in the statute, except if a discharger could prove that the sole cause of the discharge was the act or omission of any third party, whether or not the act or omission was negligent. Section 311(g) stated that a third party whose actions were the sole cause of the discharge was strictly liable up to liability limits. Section 311(h) stated that its provision should in no way affect the rights of the United States government (plaintiff) or other persons against a third party whose actions contributed to the discharge. Due to the negligence of its operators, the vessel Big Sam (defendant) collided with a tank barge, causing oil to spill from the barge. The United States government sued to recover cleanup costs from Big Sam. Big Sam argued that the liability limits in section 311(g) applied, limiting Big Sam’s liability to $15,500. A panel of Fifth Circuit judges rejected this argument, holding that Big Sam was liable for the full damages caused by its negligence under maritime tort principles. In an earlier case, United States v. Dixie Carriers, Inc., the Fifth Circuit had held that the FWPCA was a comprehensive scheme intended to bar the government’s recovery of cleanup costs from dischargers under common-law theories. Big Sam applied for a rehearing en banc of the panel’s judgment.