On December 8, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit handed down its decision in the longshore third-party personal injury matter Alberto Alvarado vs. BBC Sapphire, No. 24-20476, affirming a summary judgment entered in favor of SBSB Eastham clients, the BBC Sapphire interests, by federal district judge Kenneth Hoyt. Alvarado argued that the BBC Sapphire interests violated the Scindia turnover and active control duties, causing him to fall 15’ down a ship’s vertical ladderwell and sustain serious orthopedic injuries.
Congratulations to Houston partners Christina Schovajsa, James Bailey and Thomas Stanley for their exemplary work during the discovery and briefing stage of the case, and to Houston partner Robert Klawetter who argued the case to a 3-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit.