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Dive Brief:
- Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, on behalf of the state, has filed a lawsuit against Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine Group, the owners and operators of the freighter Dali that crashed into the Baltimore Key Bridge and collapsed.
- The demand is the fourth announced in a week, after the legal actions of the Department of Justicethe company he worked for six construction workers who died in the collapse and the families of three of those workers.
- Grace Ocean and Synergy Marine, the Dali’s owner and manager, respectively, sought to limit their liability to about $44 million, the vessel’s value. Now, lawsuits have piled up ahead of the Sept. 24 deadline to challenge that filing.
Diving knowledge:
The state filing in the United States District Court of Maryland did not specify the exact amount it is seeking, but listed punitive and financial damages, to include the estimated $1.7 billion cost to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The federal government will pay for the bridge’s reconstruction, according to a promise President Joe Biden did after the collapse. Should the state of Maryland win damages to pay for the bridge collapse, it would use funds to help pay the federal government for the cost of the bridge, Benjamin Mizer, DOJ’s principal assistant attorney general, told reporters Sept. 18 .
The new bridge has an expected completion date of 2028, according to the release.
In addition to punitive damages and the cost of replacing the bridge, the state is asking the court to award damages for:
- Costs arising from emergency response, salvage, demolition and benefits paid to affected workers and businesses.
- Revenue lost due to the bridge and canal disruption, such as tolls, fees and taxes.
- Compensation, damages and attorneys’ fees.
- Damage to natural resources.
- Costs related to environmental pollution and penalties.
- Increased wear and tear on the state’s infrastructure due to the lack of the main road.
“We have suffered an increase in traffic and altered work journeys, degrading even the quality of the air we breathe. Our state has lost valuable tax and toll revenue, and Maryland’s economy has been disrupted,” Brown said in a statement. “Maryland will rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, but Marylanders should not have to pay due to the negligence and incompetence of Dalí’s owner and manager. .”
