The following are digests and case links to Circuit Court Admiralty Cases that have as an issue the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"):

In re Graham Offshore
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
April 9, 2002

Maritime Torts/Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): Nothing in the Coast Guard mandated Emergency Evacuation Plan ("EEP") imposes a legal duty on the rig owner to oversee the operations of the boat that is used to evacuate personnel from the rig, which is instead the duty of the boat owner and the boat's time charterer.

Dahlen v. Gulf Crews, Inc.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
February 4, 2002

Longshore & Harbor Workers' Act/Charter Parties: The standard of care owed a longshore worker by a vessel owner as articulated in Scindia and Howlett does not explicitly apply to time charterers. But, as no other case articulating the duty owed by a time charterer in such a situation could be found, the district court did not abuse its discretion by issuing a jury instruction that applied Scindia to the time charterer. Indemnity: The vessel owner did not owe the time charterer an indemnity under the charter's indemnity and insurance clause since the injury to Plaintiff did not arise out of or relate to the performance of the vessel during the charter. Admiralty Jurisdiction/Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): The district court erred in applying the Admiralty Extension Act, 46 U.S.C. § 740, and maritime law since Plaintiff's alleged injury was not caused by the defective appurtenance of a ship on navigable waters and, furthermore, the OCSLA specifically regards the artificial islands on the OCS as areas where state law should apply unless there is a conflict with federal law. 

Pickett v. Petroleum Helicopters
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
September 28, 2001

Longshore & Harbor Workers' Act/Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): Claimant spouse could not recover under the Longshore Act as applied by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"), 43 U.S.C. § 1333(b), since her husband's death from a helicopter crash occurred over land and not over the Outer Continental Shelf.

Demette v. Falcon Drilling Co.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
June 12, 2001

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): The OCSLA applies to an injury suffered on the Fal-Rig #85 since it was jacked-up over the OCS at the time of Demette's injury and it was therefore a device "temporarily attached to the seabed" for the purpose of drilling for oil under section 1333(a)(1) of the Act. Further, since the contract for oil drilling services and the injury that invoked it were maritime in nature, maritime law applies of its own force and Louisiana state law does not apply under section 1333(a)(2) of the Act. Longshore & Harbor Workers' Act/Indemnity: Since section 1333(b) of the OCSLA extends the LHWCA to non-seamen employed on the OCS, Demette is entitled to LHWCA benefits "by virtue" of the OCSLA. In such a case, the LHWCA provides that reciprocal indemnity provisions between the employer and the vessel owner are enforceable, although section 905(b) of the LHWCA ordinarily bars the enforcement of indemnity agreements between employers and vessel owners. Thus, since Demette's employer and the vessel owner each promised to indemnify the other, the indemnification is reciprocal and therefore valid and enforceable.

Shell Offshore v. Babbitt
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
January  12, 2001

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): The denial of Shell's request to use its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) tariff rate as the cost of transporting crude oil produced from certain of Shell's offshore oil and gas leases for purposes of calculating Shell's royalty payments due the Interior Department was in essence the application of a new substantive rule that required notice and comment before implementation, thus Shell was entitled to use the FERC tariff rate to calculate transportation costs for all of the offshore oil at issue.

Soco Offshore Inc v. Samedan Oil Corp
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
April 13, 2000

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"): In determining whether an offshore area was "adjacent" to Alabama under the OCSLA, the court considered geographic proximity, federal agency action, prior court determinations and projected  boundaries. The Court affirmed the district court's finding that the offshore area was adjacent to Alabama, thus Alabama law is considered the law of the United States in the area and will govern in deciding a dispute between the parties under a joint operating agreement for development of a federal oil and gas lease in the offshore area.