Kretzer v. Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION

Walter C. Kretzer [“Kretzer” or “appellant”] appeals the order of the Territorial Court entering judgment on the pleadings in favor of Hess Oh Virgin Islands Corporation [“HOVIC” or “appellee”], finding that federal maritime law preempted Kret-zer, as a seaman operating in territorial waters, from bringing any claim under the Virgin Islands Wrongful Discharge Act, V.I.Code Ann. tit. 24, § 76 [“VIWDA”].

While we agree that maritime law governs this case, the trial judge applied its preemptive effect too broadly in effectively ruling that a seaman, as an at-will…