Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend

Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 2, 2009 Decided June 25, 2009
Full case name	Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc., et al., Petitioners v. Edgar L. Townsend
Docket no.	08-214
Citations	557 U.S. 404 (more) 129 S. Ct. 2561; 174 L. Ed. 2d 382; 2009 U.S. LEXIS 4732; 77 U.S.L.W. 4603; 29 I.E.R. Cas. (BNA) 385; 2009 AMC 1521; 21 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 1004
Holding
Because punitive damages have long been an accepted remedy under general maritime law, and because neither Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. (1990) nor the Jones Act altered this understanding, punitive damages for the willful and wanton disregard of the maintenance and cure obligation remain available as a matter of general maritime law.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Antonin Scalia Anthony Kennedy · David Souter Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Case opinions
Majority	Thomas, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Dissent	Alito, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy

Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States holding that a seaman may recover punitive damages from his employer for failure to pay maintenance and cure. Townsend reversed a line of cases, starting with Guevara v. Maritime Overseas Corp. in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (New Orleans), that restricted damages in maritime personal injury cases only to "pecuniary" damages. Consequently, a seaman can now recover both attorney's fees and punitive damages for the willful and wanton refusal of a shipowner to provide medical care to a seaman injured on the job. The Court's 5-4 opinion was delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas.

The Court explained that Congress never used the words "pecuniary" or "non-pecuniary" to describe the damages available for personal injuries (injuries not causing death) under either the Jones Act or the Federal Employers Liability Act.^{[citation needed]} Congress merely said "damages"; hence, any limitation on those damages to "pecuniary damages" was a creation of the courts, not Congress. The Court stated that it "will not attribute words to Congress that Congress did not say."

External links[]

• Text of Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 557 U.S. 404 (2009) is available from: Cornell  CourtListener  Findlaw  Google Scholar  Justia  Oyez (oral argument audio)  Supreme Court (slip opinion)