St. Louis barge litigation may keep on rolling

St. Louis Daily Record & St. Louis Countian, Aug 5, 2008 by Donna Walter

On his last day of work last week, Senior U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh issued his final order in a massive 10-year-old case over the property damage that occurred when a group of barges hit the Admiral.

But the litigation may not be over. President Casino, which is housed in the Admiral on the Mississippi River, said in footnotes in a joint filing that it reserves its right to file post-trial motions and appeals to portions of the judge's decisions.

The barge owners and the President Casino were fighting over how much each party would be entitled to take from a limitation fund created to cover property-damage claims.

The fund began with $2.2 million. At 6 percent interest compounded annually, the fund has grown to just more than $4 million, according to the joint filing. However, the total claims against the fund come to about $8 million, which includes roughly $2.5 million in interest, the filing says.

Limbaugh's order, issued July 31, awards from the fund $210,855 to Brennan Marine Co., which owns two barges; $284,353 to Pinnacle Barge Co. and Pinnacle Transportation Inc., which own two barges; and $3.5 million to the President Casino.

The judge also entered a judgment against towboat Capt. John O. Johnson, awarding $418,221 to Brennan, $562,814 to Pinnacle and just under $7 million to the casino. These awards aren't subject to the limitations fund.

John S. Farmer, of Thompson Coburn in St. Louis, represented the President Casino on the property damage claims. He declined to comment on the case.

The casino said in the joint filing it wants to keep the right to appeal Limbaugh's July 24 order, which dealt with the casino's business interruption claim. Limbaugh said in the order that the casino isn't entitled to damages for costs associated with reopening the casino or for costs associated with the wages and tips the casino paid employees while the Admiral was closed for repairs.

Barry L. Gassman, of Asperger Associates in Chicago, represented the President Casino on the business interruption claim. He said that they are considering appealing the July 24 order.

"If we are able to recover our reopening costs and lost wages that we paid to our employees on appeal, then we will receive a greater percentage of the fund," he said. "It's something we are considering but haven't decided for certain that we will pursue it."

The casino also has a pending motion for declaratory judgment in the federal Eastern District of Missouri regarding an excess insurance carrier of American Milling. American Milling held a $10 million excess policy from Missouri Navigator's Management to cover its crewing company, Winterville, which directed its towboats. Gassman believes that policy should be added to the limitation fund for property damages.

American Milling objected to a 2006 order directing that statutory interest on the limitation fund be compounded annually. The company said in a footnote to the joint filing that the fund should be subject to simple interest.

St. Louis lawyer John R. Halpern, of Goldstein & Price, represented American Milling. He was out of the office Monday.

The accident occurred in 1998 when the towboat Anne Holly hit the Eads Bridge. This caused some of the 15 barges it was towing to break loose and hit the Admiral, which is permanently moored on the Mississippi River. The Admiral moved north of the Eads Bridge in 2000.

Just days after the collision, American Milling Co., which owned the Anne Holly, sued in the St. Louis-based federal court to limit its liability under the Limitation of Liability Act to the value of the towboat. In 2005, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Limbaugh's decision that the towboat was worth $2.2 million.