Vessel Assist Association of America Inc. v. Boat Owners Association of the United States dba Towboat/U.S. and Boat/U.S.
Published: Jul. 1, 2000 | Result Date: Jan. 22, 2000 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: SACV991584AHS Bench Decision – $0
Court
Federal Circuit Court
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Neil S. Lerner
(Cox, Wootton, Lerner, Griffin & Hansen LLP)
Facts
Vessel Assist and Boat/U.S. are competitors in the offshore towing industry. Vessel Assist contended that a provision in the Year 2000 contracts between Boat/U.S. and its towing companies prevented them from directly billing Vessel Assist for towage work, and that this would essentially drive Vessel Assist out of business. Vessel Assist filed a lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order from the Superior Court preventing Boat/U.S. from enacting its Year 2000 contracts. After issuing a TRO, the case was removed to federal court by Boat/U.S., where the motion for a preliminary injunction was heard.
Other Information
The court found that plaintiff had failed to establish that it had or would sustain irreperable harm as a result of the conduct it sought to enjoin. Plaintiff further failed to establish that it would be harmed if defendant was not enjoined. Plaintiff also failed to show that the public's safety would be jeopardized by the conduct at issue. The court further found that defendant had established that it had a legitimate business purpose for the conduct at issue; the public has a strong interest in promoting free competition; plaintiff had previously engaged in the same conduct which it was asking the court to enjoin; and defendant would be harmed if it was enjoined from implementing its Year 2000 towing contracts in full.
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