Trico Marine Operators, Inc. v. Dow Chemical Co.

ORDER AND REASONS

CLEMENT, District Judge.

Defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of averted liability was decided this date on memoranda. For the reasons stated below, defendants’ motion is GRANTED, but the Court will hear evidence on the plaintiffs’ skill and efforts in protecting the environment.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 3, 1990, the M/V LISA C, owned by Childress Co., Inc., was engaged in towing the barges DC 310, DC 373 and DC 371 through the Corpus Christi Ship Channel near Corpus Christi, Texas. The barges were chartered to defendant Dow Chemical Company and owned by…