Domingo Guevara v. Maritime Overseas Corporation

I fully join the Court’s opinion, and append this separate writing merely to urge that the *1285en banc court reexamine the availability of general punitive damages in maintenance and cure cases, particularly in light of the Supreme Court’s opinion in Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19, 111 S.Ct. 317, 112 L.Ed.2d 275 (1990). That issue is squarely presented in this case.

In my view, Miles seriously calls into question the availability of punitive damages for nonpayment of maintenance and cure. If the First and Sixth Circuits, the Texas Supreme Court, and all the rest of the courts that have…