A Louisiana-based maritime company is seeking over $3 million in unpaid invoices from a vessel brokerage firm, accusing it of breaching their contract. Offshore Liftboats, LLC (OLB) filed the complaint against Gulf Offshore Logistics, LLC (GOL) in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on June 26, 2024.
The dispute centers around a Brokerage Agreement entered into on March 25, 2016, where GOL was contracted to operate as a vessel broker for OLB's vessels. Under this agreement, GOL chartered OLB’s vessels to various clients, including Cox Operating, LLC. According to the terms of the agreement, GOL was responsible for collecting payments from these clients and remitting them to OLB within fifteen days of receipt.
However, OLB alleges that GOL failed to collect substantial sums owed for work performed by its vessels on Cox’s oil wells off the coast of Louisiana. Specifically, OLB claims that GOL owes them $3,339,343.78. The plaintiff asserts that despite timely invoicing and no disputes over services rendered or invoices issued by OLB, GOL did not fulfill its contractual obligation to use reasonable efforts to collect payments from Cox.
The situation worsened when Cox Operating filed for bankruptcy on May 14, 2023. Prior to this filing, during a critical 90-day period leading up to the bankruptcy, Cox paid GOL over $7 million. Of this amount, approximately $2.8 million was meant for outstanding invoices owed to OLB. Despite receiving these funds from Cox, GOL allegedly failed to remit any payment to OLB.
In November 2022, OLB demanded that GOL comply with their contractual obligations and collect the outstanding invoices from Cox. According to the complaint, GOL neither responded nor took any action to obtain these payments. Consequently, OLB had to spend over $50,000 in legal fees and filing costs to place liens on Cox’s oil wells for unpaid work.
Further complicating matters is the claim that after Cox's bankruptcy filing, GOL received substantial payments as a "critical vendor" but still did not pass any funds along to OLB. This alleged breach has forced OLB into additional legal actions within the bankruptcy proceedings to recover their due amounts.
Offshore Liftboats is seeking judgment against Gulf Offshore Logistics for all costs and damages incurred due to the breach of contract. They are demanding payment of $3,339,343.78 plus legal interest from forty-five days following invoice dates and reimbursement of attorney’s fees and court costs.
The case is being handled by attorneys Jason R. Kenney and Michael W. Maldonado from Staines Eppling & Kenney law firm representing Offshore Liftboats under Case No. 24-cv-1632.