Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness Act
Latest action · Dec 5, 2012 By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 112-245.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJan 25, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness Act - (Sec. 2) Amends federal maritime law formerly known as the Shipowners' Liability Act of 1851 to exclude a claim for personal injury or wrongful death arising from the blowout and explosion of the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon that occurred on April 20, 2010 (the Deepwater Horizon incident), from provisions limiting a vessel owner's liability in specified instances to the value of the vessel and its pending freight.
(Sec. 3) Amends the Death on the High Seas Act to allow a civil action in law or in admiralty against the person or vessel responsible for a Deepwater Horizon incident death. (Current law allows only a civil action in admiralty when death is caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default.) Authorizes any related recovery to include fair compensation for nonpecuniary loss (care, comfort, companionship, and society) plus a fair compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering. (Current law allows only fair compensation for pecuniary loss sustained by the individuals for whose benefit the action is brought.)
(Sec. 4) Amends the Jones Act to authorize any recovery in a civil action at law against the employer of a seaman who dies from the Deepwater Horizon incident to include fair compensation for nonpecuniary loss, plus a fair compensation for the decedent's pain and suffering. (Current law allows only certain wrongful death and survival claims as is available to railway employees.)
(Sec. 5) Applies this Act to: (1) causes of action and claims arising after April 19, 2010; and (2) actions commenced prior to, on, or after enactment of this Act that have not been finally adjudicated, including appellate review, as of such date.
Cosponsors 3
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 25, 2011 to Jan 27, 2011; 2 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Jan 25, 2011 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Jan 25, 2011 |
| D-LA | Mary L. Landrieu | Jan 27, 2011 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee | Referred Jan 26, 2011Markup Jun 8, 2011Reported Nov 14, 2012 |
Actions 6
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Dec 5, 2012By Senator Rockefeller from Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation filed written report. Report No. 112-245.
- Nov 14, 2012Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Reported by Senator Rockefeller with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
- Nov 14, 2012Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 544.
- Jun 8, 2011Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
- Jan 25, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Jan 25, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Jun 17, 2011S. 183, Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness ActCost estimate for the bill as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on June 8, 2011
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R41684 | Enacted and Proposed Oil Spill Legislation in the 112th Congress Archived | Report | Jan 16, 2013 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- 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.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness Act
- Short Titles as Reported to Senate
- Deepwater Horizon Survivors' Fairness Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Transportation and Public Works.
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Nov 14, 2012Reported to Senate
- Jan 25, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
