II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 183 

To clarify the applicability of certain maritime laws with respect to the 

blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 25 (legislative day, JANUARY 5), 2011 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To clarify the applicability of certain maritime laws with 

respect to the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deepwater Horizon 

5 Survivors’ Fairness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SHIPOWNERS’ LIABILITY ACT OF 

2 1851. 

3 (a) GENERAL LIMIT OF LIABILITY.—Section 

4 30505(c) of title 46, United States Code, is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) CLAIMS NOT SUBJECT TO LIMITATION.—Sub7 section (a) does not apply— 

8 ‘‘(1) to a claim for wages; or 

9 ‘‘(2) to a claim for personal injury or wrongful 

10 death arising from the blowout and explosion of the 

11 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that 

12 occurred on April 20, 2010.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 30511(c) 

14 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by inserting 

15 ‘‘that are subject to limitation under section 30505’’ after 

16 ‘‘question’’. 

17 SEC. 3. AMENDMENT OF THE DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS 

18 ACT. 

19 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.—Section 30302 of title 46, 

20 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the first 

21 sentence the following: ‘‘If the death was attributable to 

22 the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling 

23 unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010, 

24 the action may be brought in law or in admiralty.’’. 

25 (b) AMOUNT AND APPORTIONMENT OF RECOVERY.— 

26 Section 30303 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 


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1 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the action under 

2 this chapter arises from the blowout and explosion of the 

3 mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that oc4 curred on April 20, 2010, the recovery may include fair 

5 compensation for nonpecuniary loss, plus a fair compensa6 tion for the decedent’s pain and suffering. In this section, 

7 the term ‘nonpecuniary loss’ means the loss of care, com8 fort, companionship, and society.’’. 

9 (c) DEATH OF PLAINTIFF IN PENDING ACTION.— 

10 Section 30305 of title 46, United States Code, is amended 

11 by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If a civil action in 

12 law is pending in a court of the United States to recover 

13 for personal injury caused by wrongful act, neglect, or de14 fault described in the second sentence of section 30302 

15 of this title and the individual dies during the action as 

16 a result of that wrongful act, neglect, or default, the per17 sonal representative of the decedent may be substituted 

18 as the plaintiff and the action may proceed under this 

19 chapter for the recovery authorized by this chapter.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT OF JONES ACT. 

21 Section 30104(a) of title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘If the action 

23 under this chapter arises from the blowout and explosion 

24 of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon 

25 that occurred on April 20, 2010, the recovery for a seaman 


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1 who dies may include fair compensation for nonpecuniary 

2 loss, plus a fair compensation for the decedent’s pain and 

3 suffering. In this section, the term ‘nonpecuniary loss’ 

4 means the loss of care, comfort, companionship, and soci5 ety.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION FOR CERTAIN CIVIL 

7 ACTIONS. 

8 (a) MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION FOR CERTAIN CIVIL

9 ACTIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 303 of title 46, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (A) by redesignating section 30308 as sec13 tion 30309; and 

14 (B) by inserting after section 30307 the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘§ 30308. Multidistrict litigation for certain civil ac17 tions 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A plaintiff in a covered civil ac19 tion brought under chapter 301 or this chapter may elect 

20 to have the claims of that plaintiff— 

21 ‘‘(1) severed from all other claims in the cov22 ered civil action; and 

23 ‘‘(2) not be subject to section 1407 of title 28 

24 or any similar provision of State law. 


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1 ‘‘(b) COVERED CIVIL ACTION DEFINED.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘covered civil action’ means a civil action 

3 for damages for personal injury or wrongful death arising 

4 from the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore 

5 drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 

6 2010.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con8 tents for chapter 303 of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended by striking the item relating to section 30308 

10 and inserting the following: 

‘‘30308. Multidistrict litigation for certain civil actions. 

‘‘30309. Nonapplication.’’. 

11 SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

12 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to— 

13 (1) causes of action and claims arising after 

14 April 19, 2010; and 

15 (2) actions commenced before the date of enact16 ment of this Act that have not been finally adju17 dicated, including appellate review, as of that date. 

Æ 


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