A construction company whose barges came loose from their moorings during Hurricane Sally and damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge will have to cope with some 900 claims by businesses and other parties that say they suffered economic damages while the bridge was closed for repairs.
A panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected arguments by Skanska USA that the Limitations Act — a law passed by Congress in 1851 — required a district court to determine whether it was liable for each of the claims against it before deciding whether its liability should be limited or even exonerated.
“Skanska’s approach would turn the Limitation Act on its head, and our precedents have already