Delaware River & Bay Authority v. Kopacz

OPINION OF THE COURT

RENDELL, Circuit Judge.

In this appeal from the District Court’s award of declaratory judgment in favor of defendant Jan Kopacz, and against plaintiff Delaware River & Bay Authority (“DRBA”), we are called upon to decide two issues of admiralty law: (1) whether commuter seamen, who eat and sleep on land, are entitled to “maintenance and cure” — payment from a shipowner to a seaman to cover medical, food, and lodging expenses during the seaman’s recovery *624from illness or injury; and (2) if so, whether a shipowner is relieved of its maintenance and cure obligation when the…