LAFAYETTE – A Louisiana-based marine transportation company being sued in a dispute involving the shipping of 5 million gallons of oil to Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria recently requested the breach of contract suit be moved to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Florida Marine Transporters filed the request August 31 to remove the case to federal court from the 15th Judicial District Court for Lafayette Parish.
In the suit, the plaintiff, Louisiana-based Macro Companies, alleges it is owed a commission on a disaster relief contract awarded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Florida Marine.
In its filing to remove the case to federal court, Florida Marine argues that, "Given that FEMA’s contract involved the sale and transportation of fuel across international waters to aid in the recovery of a territory of the United States – presumably pursuant to an executive order and/or major disaster declaration – a significant federal interest is involved in the interpretation of this alleged government contract."
Florida Marine was awarded a contract by FEMA and then approached Macro for the transportation of the fuel.
In its suit, Macro claims that Florida Marine, along with Dearybury Oil & Gas and an employee of Florida Marine, failed to pay them for a September 2017 delivery of oil from Savannah, Georgia, to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
According to the lawsuit, a Macro representative was approached by a Florida Marine representative with an estimate for the 5 million gallons of diesel fuel to be obtained from Dearybury Oil & Gas. The quote included a "5 cents per gallon commission (or $250,000) claimed by Macro." However, it was later determined that, "Dearybury should deal with FEMA directly in arranging the sale and transportation of diesel fuel to Puerto Rico via freighter and that Macro would still be paid a 5-cent per gallon commission," court filings said.
Macro alleges that it invoiced Dearybury on Nov. 29, 2017, for its commission of $250,000 on the FEMA contract and that no payment has been made.