George J.

Fowler, III

Position: Partner
Office: New Orleans

George Fowler is a partner in the Maritime Practice Group, where he focuses on litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution.

George is an internationally recognized trial lawyer known for his successful record trying hundreds of cases to juries and judges, including numerous high-profile matters, complex litigation, and cases of national concern.

George has written and lectured extensively on private international law and world trade and is active in promoting trade and investment for the City of New Orleans. He speaks frequently and has appeared regularly on national television, where he provides commentary and insights on issues involving Cuba and US-Cuba relations.

Committed to promoting educational opportunity, George is the founder, chairman emeritus, and a current board member of the New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Under his leadership, the organization has awarded more than 800 scholarships to Latino students.

He is also deeply involved in human and civil rights issues and has represented a number of clients in matters involving police abuse in New Orleans, negligent treatment of individuals by US authorities, and violations of human rights in Cuba and elsewhere.

Born in Havana, Cuba, George became a refugee in the United States at the age of 9. For the past 30 years, he has been pro-bono general counsel of the Cuban American National Foundation, the largest Cuban exile organization in the world. During his tenure, he has worked to have the Cuban dictator indicted for crimes against humanity, genocide, and violations of human rights in various countries, including the United States.

He has written extensively on this issue and appeared numerous times on radio and TV shows speaking on the subject. George is also active with the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba, an organization devoted to supporting the dissident movement in Cuba and aiding Cubans who make it to the United States.

George is fluent in Spanish and French.

Noteworthy

Experience

MARITIME / OFFSHORE ENERGY

Maritime Disaster

Claim against Rolls-Royce on behalf of Royal Caribbean for multiple pod failures on the MILLENNIUM, INFINITY, SUMMIT and CONSTELLATION: Royal Caribbean et al v. Alstom and Rolls-Royce, Case No. 03-18350 CA 20, 11th Judicial Circuit in and for Miami-Dade County, Florida
QUEEN MARY 2: mermaid pod claim against Rolls-Royce; tried and won $24 million jury verdict, Carnival v. Rolls-Royce PLC & Converteam, Case No. 08-23318-Civ-Seitz-O’Sullivan, US District Court, Southern District of Florida
M/V SEABULK AMERICA: shipyard dispute relative to defective construction of the hull; counsel for Vesta Insurance
PHI: helicopter crash on drilling rig, 15 dead, 1988
M/V COLUMBUS: grounding off the coast of Jamaica, 2002
D/B TOLTECA: pipeline damage, 2000
M/V PROFITIS ELIAS: grounding off Veracruz, Mexico, 1997
M/V MAY FLOWER III: destruction of property, Hurricane Katrina
M/V ARABELLA & M/V BUNKER KING: barge breakaway incident
M/V GLOMAR CELTIC SEA: mooring winch break failures, 2002
D/G GSF ARTIC I: breakaway of drilling rig during Hurricane Katrina striking Stone Energy Platform, 2005
GSF HIGHISLAND III: Hurricane Rita, damage to Hog Bayou field well head
DEVELOPMENT DRILLER I: salvage claim
ADRIATIC VII: damage and destruction of APACHE platform during Hurricane Rita
MN EL HIPPO GRANDE and TIDEMAR 265: arrest of vessels and crew in Guatemala
M/V HATCH TIDE: striking of pipeline causing explosion and four deaths in Santa Marta, Colombia, 1996
M/V CHEROKEE PRINCESS: damage to propeller in Buenos Aires, Argentina
M/V KICKAPOO BELLE: stevedore damage to crane in Manzanilla, Mexico, 2000
M/V CHEROKEE PRINCESS: loss of crew at sea by wavewash, 2001
M/S CELEBRATION: alleged wavewash incident, 1996
M/SV DESTINY: main engine breakdown, 2000
M/S INSPIRATION: coral reef damage
M/S FANTASY: alleged wavewash incident
M/V CHUCK: 1997
M/V TEDDY BEAR: salvage claim
M/S CRYSTAL SERENITY: electrical failure of starboard pod
M/S CRYSTAL SERENITY: generator disaster
D/B CHEMUL: Pemex platform broke away from its moorings and caused extensive damage in Port of Mobile during a hurricane
M/V NORDIC: claim against US Coast Guard for damages and loss of vessel
M/V BLACK RIVER: damage to pipeline
M/V CASTILLO DE SALAS: breakaway from anchor, which caught on an energy pipeline in the Mississippi River
M/V KATHY JEAN: fishing vessel disappearance
McDonough BARGE ABC: 71 crew deaths involving contaminated gas in a barge
M/V FORUM CHEMIST: salvage claim

Sinking

M/V JOY: sinking off the coast of New Orleans, 1975
M/V MR. JOHN: sinking off the coast of Africa
M/V DOULA TIDE: sinking at Port Elizabeth
M/V HAPPY RUNNER: sinking in the Mississippi River
BARGE 269: sinking off the coast of Mexico; 265 crewman were thrown into the sea with loss of life
M/V OXY PRODUCER: sinking of an integrated tug and barge

Oil Spill

M/V AMOCO CADIZ: providing advice to Astilleros Españoles
M/V STONE FUELER: oil spill and sinking, 1998
M/V AELOSIS: alleged oil spill in New Orleans, 2001
M/S TROPICALE: oil spill in the Mississippi River, 1994
M/S SENSATION: oil spill in Tampa
M/S CELEBRATION: oil spill
M/S INSPIRATION: oil spill
MN EMILY S. and BARGE MORRIS J. BERMAN: oil spill disaster, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1994
M/V CATHY SETTOON: hit and run of the ExPert oil well causing massive oil pollution, 2009

Fire

Astano Shipyard, Spain: fire and explosion of a drilling rig under construction
CHUC. A PEMEX Drilling platform: fire and explosion in Mexico with loss of life and the destruction of the platform, 1997
M/S ECSTASY: fire onboard, 1998
M/S TROPICALE: fire onboard, 1999
M/W WARSAW: fire on coal shipments from the west coast to Taiwan
M/S CELEBRATION: fire onboard, 2000
CTE MACARENA: fire, 1992
M/S CARNIVAL SPLENDOR: engine room fire, 2010
BARGE 525: explosion and loss of life

Collision / Allision

M/V BALTIC MERMAID: collision with M/V MARSHAL KONYEV, 1996
M/V FORMOSA SIX: collision with M/V FLORA
M/V ISLA AZTECA: allision with M/V MODU: TOTONACA, 2004
M/V BANAHAW: collision with M/V GEORGIA LADY, 1989
OCEAN CARRIER I: collision with mooring dolphin in Cartagena, Colombia, 1993
M/V CAL DIVER I: collision with MISS PATRICIA and BOA BARGE 10, 1995
M/S INSPIRATION: collision with tug, M/V W.O. WATSON, and tow, 2001
M/V MARINER III: collision and loss of life with S/B HILARIA, 2003
M/V EARTHRACE: collision with fishing vessel off the coast of Guatemala, 2007
Submarine USS DRUM and M.T. SEI BRIGHT: collision
M/V STONE FUELER: collision with M/V OSCO CASTER, 1988
M/V BANAHAW: collision with the GEORGIA LADY, 1989
M/V MISS LURLEEN: collision with rig portable, 2003
M/V OBO VENTURE: collision with ANGELIC SPIRIT, 1998
GLOMAR LABRADOR: struck by M/V IRVING FOREST in the North Sea
M/V TONGALA: allision with dock causing massive damage
M/V HOS BEAUFORT: collision with mobile, semi-submersible offshore construction support platform in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, 2001

Mutiny

M/V NYUTA: mutiny, 1975

INTERNATIONAL LAW, LITIGATION AND ARBITRATION

Representing officers, directors, and corporations in multiple Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases relative to the US offshore oil and gas industry
Pending ICSID arbitration between Spanish client against the government of Costa Rica relative to the national contract for inspection of vehicles countrywide
Represented officers of a US publicly held company in criminal and civil actions brought by labor unions in Spain; pending in Spain since 2001
Represented Fidelity and Deposit of Maryland, the bonding company for the contractor of the Pan American Highway, in multiple civil and criminal disputes with the contractors; appeared before the courts of Panama
Represented US interests in a dispute with a Chinese company relative to representation agreements
Represented MasTec, Inc., in commercial litigation brought by shareholders of a Spanish company; the case was dismissed and MasTec, Inc., received a letter confirming that the allegations were false; the claim was filed in a Miami federal court but stemmed from Spanish litigation
Arrest of ship in Japan to collect claim for bunkers sold in the United States; the collection was in full
Represent Halliburton in Colombia in multiple areas, including labor disputes over the past 20 years
Represented a manufacturer and mortgagee of four planes confiscated by the government of Venezuela alleging the purchaser carried illegal drugs
Appeared before the government of Spain to provide an opinion on Spain’s rights to treasure recovered from Spanish galleons and Spain’s dispute with salvors
Represented Brazilian exporters of steel to the United States in litigation in the United States and in Brazil
Represented a US company sued by YPF, Argentina’s oil company, for breach of contract to purchase oil
Provided representation in multiple matters affecting the US-Cuba policy, including OFAC-related issues

POWER PLANT PROJECTS

Handled a contract for a Guatemalan client, transporting and erecting a power plant in Guatemala for Duke Energy
Represented Colombia Energy Company in various power plant projects

HUMAN RIGHTS

Served as one of the attorneys for Elian Gonzalez, the young Cuban boy who sought to remain in the United States after his mother died in the Florida Straits bringing him to freedom; George argued the case in federal court in Washington, DC (Elian Gonzalez, a minor, by and through Lazaro Gonzalez, v. Janet Reno, et al, # 00-00819 (HHK))

CIVIL RIGHTS

Civilly prosecuted to jury trial cases on behalf of African Americans who have been abused by police in New Orleans; one noteworthy case was the matter of Forde, et al v. Lee, et al, #: 2:91-cv- 01163MLCF, which was presided by the Honorable Martin Feldman; the team was able to obtain a successful jury verdict in favor of Brian Forde, a black New Orleans Saints football player, who was brutally beaten by the police, winning one of the largest civil rights verdicts in Louisiana, and included the award of attorneys’ fees
Successfully sued the US Coast Guard and the US government for their negligent treatment of Captain Bram Coumou, whose civil and human rights were violated when he was released to the Haitian government for prosecution for a crime the US Coast Guard knew he did not commit (Bram C. Coumou v. The United States of America, et al, #: 2:93-cv-01465-ML); won a multimillion-dollar verdict against the US government after a jury trial in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

EXPROPRIATION

Represented John W. Stone Oil Distributor, LLC, against Transco for expropriation of gas caverns in Louisiana

ANTITRUST

Represented a Louisiana company in an anti-trust civil action in a federal court brought by Ochsner Hospital for alleged anti-trust and price fixing violations

George J.

Fowler, III

Noteworthy

Experience

Publications

Memberships

Education

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

Languages

Related Practices

Related Industries

George J. Fowler, III

Noteworthy

Experience

Publications

Memberships

Education

Bar Admissions

Court Admissions

Languages

Related Practices

Related Industries

George J.

Fowler, III