Ask a Maritime Attorney - Page 16 of 66

David Weil has been the proud author of the “Ask a Maritime Attorney” column in The Southern California Log Newspaper and Sea Magazine since 2006, with over 300 installments of the column. We have provided links in this section to those articles, covering a wide range of topics of interest to the California maritime and boating communities.

Ask a Maritime Attorney: What is Admiralty law?

October 7, 2021

Question: I was briefly involved in a lawsuit last year in connection with a boat accident and I was a little confused by some of the terminology. First, what is the difference between admiralty law and maritime law? Also,...

Ask a Maritime Attorney: Does the old-time salvage law apply?

September 23, 2021

Question: I came across a rigid inflatable dinghy during a return trip from Catalina last weekend. The boat was drifting with no other boats in sight, so we tied the bowline off on our boat and towed it home. I assume the...

Ask a Maritime Attorney: Do I legally have to render assistance to a distressed boater?

September 9, 2021

Question: I recently read a social media post about a rescue at sea that was successfully performed by a boat owner who was in the vicinity of the boat in trouble. The post said nothing about the legal requirements of a...

Ask a Maritime Attorney: What are the steps to put a lien on a vessel?

August 26, 2021

Question: Our building materials company is supplying a substantial amount of material for the renovation of a historic vessel, and the primary contractor has asked us to open a line of credit for him. We are very experienced...

Ask a Maritime Attorney: I filed a lien against a yacht for unpaid wages, what next?

August 5, 2021

Question: I would like some legal advice on how to enforce a maritime lien. I am a former crew member of a large American yacht that failed to pay me when I left the boat over two months ago. I recorded a maritime lien...