{"id":19503,"date":"2020-06-11T18:29:53","date_gmt":"2020-06-11T18:29:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/06\/11\/judge-dismisses-fitzgerald-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:05:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:05:51","slug":"judge-dismisses-fitzgerald-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2020\/06\/11\/judge-dismisses-fitzgerald-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge dismisses Fitzgerald lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought on behalf of families of the seven sailors who drowned aboard the warship Fitzgerald<\/a> in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filed in November, the lawsuit sought damages from NYK Line, a Japan-based company to which the merchant vessel that struck the Fitz, the ACX Crystal, was chartered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruling in favor of a motion to dismiss the case filed by the defense, U.S. District Judge Lance Africk found the court had no relevant jurisdiction over NYK Line since the company is incorporated and headquartered in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThus, to exercise general jurisdiction over NYK Line, the corporation\u2019s contacts with the United States must make this an exceptional case,\u201d Africk wrote in his June 4 ruling in the U.S. District Court\u2019s Eastern District of Louisiana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorneys for the Fitz families argued that the extent of NYK Line\u2019s business in the United States and litigation history here satisfy the jurisdictional question, but Africk wrote that, among other factors, the company has not had a U.S. office for more than 25 years and its U.S. port calls represent just 6 to 8 percent of all its port calls worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\t