⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Fifth Circuit hears a marine-insurance dispute arising from a dock worker's injury on the Mississippi River. Centaur was building a containment wall at a terminal, while River Ventures provided crewboat transportation. Worker Devin Barrios was injured transferring a portable generator from River's boat, the Trooper, to a barge leased by Centaur. River was found solely at fault for his injury. River and its insurer, XL Specialty, now seek compensation from Centaur under the terminal's Master Service Contract. That contract required Centaur to obtain marine insurance protecting the terminal's group, including River and its vessels. In a previous appeal, the Fifth Circuit held that the contract required coverage for injuries to Centaur's employees and sent the case back. The district court again dismissed River and XL's claims, reasoning that the Trooper was not listed on the policy's vessel schedule, and the contract did not require Centaur to add it. Protection and indemnity insurance, or P and I, covers marine liabilities. An additional insured is added to someone else's policy, but that status does not automatically cover every loss. Kenneth Engerrand will argue for River and XL that the endorsement naming River and its vessels supplies the missing coverage without separately scheduling the Trooper. Listen for the distinction between what the actual policy covers and what Centaur promised to obtain.

River Ventures v. Centaur (No. 25-30671) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued October 6, 2026.