Overview
Todd Crawford has represented clients in state and federal courts across the Gulf South and along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. He provides aggressive, cost-efficient and effective legal representation, beginning with a prompt investigation, an early evaluation, and a narrowly tailored plan to meet the client’s goals for each case. Whether through trial or a favorable settlement, Todd arms his clients with the information they need to make intelligent risk management decisions. His background in science has proved to be an asset in cases involving technical subject matter.
Todd gained invaluable experience as the Law Clerk for the Honorable William P. Polk in the Ninth Judicial District Court of Louisiana from 1990 to 1991.
Much of Todd’s practice includes general maritime law matters, including:
- Personal injury defense, including claims under the Jones Act, the Longshore and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act/DBA, and passenger claims under the general maritime law
- Counseling and litigation regarding marine insurance coverages, including inland marine policies, P&I, MEL, hull, bumbershoot, builder’s risk hull coverages, and special coverages provided by the London marine market
- Reviewing, drafting and implementing master service agreements, charter parties, leases, construction contracts, and contractual indemnity and insurance provisions
- Commercial litigation
- Arrests and attachments
- Cargo claims
- Limitation of liability
- Collisions and allisions
- Charter disputes
Outside the Office
When Todd is not in the office, he enjoys volunteering on the Houston Livestock and Rodeo’s Wine Garden Committee, singing on the Praise Team at Second Baptist Church, and walking his dog, Constantine.
Representative Matters
- Mike Hooks Dredging Co. v. Eckstein Marine Serv., No. 08-3945, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53103 (E.D. La. Mar. 28, 2012)
- Mike Hooks Dredging Co. v. Marquette Transp. Gulf-Inland, L.L.C., 716 F.3d 886 (5th Cir. 2013)
- Spencer v. Hercules Offshore, Inc., No. 13-4706, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55722 (E.D. La. Apr. 22, 2014)
- of Comm’rs of the Se. La. Flood Prot. Auth.-East v. Tenn. Gas Pipeline Co., LLC, 29 F. Supp. 3d 808 (E.D. La. 2014)
- Slatten, LLC v. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., No. 13-673, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155223 (E.D. La. Oct. 31, 2014)
- Boudreaux v. Transocean Deepwater, Inc., 721 F.3d 723 (5th Cir. 2013)
- Operaciones Tecnicas Marinas, S.A.S. v. Diversified Marine Servs., L.L.C., 658 F. App’x 732 (5th Cir. 2016)
- Transocean Enter. v. Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc., 33 So. 3d 459 (Miss. 2010)
- Johnson v. Gulf Tran, Inc., CIVIL ACTION No. 99-1741 SECTION: E/1, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16888 (E.D. La. Nov. 15, 2000)
- Cargo-Levant Schiffahrtsgesellschaft MBH v. PSL Ltd., No. 1:13-CV-2296-AT, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192138 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 9, 2013)
- Carrier v. ENSCO Int’l, Inc., CIVIL ACTION NO: 99-1030 SECTION: “R”(4), 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 326 (E.D. La. Jan. 5, 2001)
- Billiot v. Marquette Transp. Co. Offshore, L.L.C., 2013-2218 ( La. App. 1 Cir 06/06/14)
- L & L Marine Transp. v. M/V Hokuetsu Hope, 895 F. Supp. 297 (S.D. Ala. 1995)
- Savarese v. Pearl River Navigation, LLC, No. 09-129, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103201 (E.D. La. Sep. 14, 2010)
- In re Eckstein Marine Serv., LLC, No. 10-10-BAJ-SCR, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41959 (M.D. La. Mar. 24, 2011)
- Carnett v. Marquette Transp. Co., No. 08-4189, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103732 (E.D. La. Oct. 28, 2009)
Professional Affiliations
- State Bar Associations of Texas, New York, Alabama, Mississippi and Illinois
- Southeast Admiralty Law Institute
- Maritime Law Association
- Defense Research Institute
- Houston Mariner Association
- Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission
- Best Lawyers (2021-2024)
- Super Lawyers (2007, 2013-2019, 2021-2024)
- Inside New Orleans Reader’s Favorite “Elite Lawyers” (2022-2023)
- New Orleans Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” (2022-2023)
- Houstonia Magazine’s “Top Lawyers” (2021-2022)
- Can a seaman recover punitive damages from a non-employer third party under the general maritime law?, May 2018
- “Ninth Circuit Rejects Fifth Circuit’s Decision in McBride, Allows Injured Seaman to Assert Punitive Damages for Unseaworthiness,” January 2018
- “Fifth Circuit Throws Davis & Sons’ Test For Maritime Contracts Overboard,” January 2018, International Law Office
