Offshore Jurisdiction "Pristine Seabed" Case Dismissed

On October 16, 2023, Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division) granted the intervenor-defendant American Petroleum Institute's (API) motion for summary judgment in the case of Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company, LLC v. Chris Magnus (Civil Action No. 4:22-CV-02481). Winston & Strawn LLP represents API in this case.

The plaintiff in the case has been seeking to overturn the interpretation of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that the Jones Act does not apply to places on the U.S. outer continental shelf (OCS) where there is nothing attached for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing "resources."

The case stems from the beginning of the U.S. offshore renewable energy program with the enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. That Act granted for the first-time express authority to the federal government to lease offshore areas on the U.S. OCS for the purpose of producing renewable