Allan Kelley has practiced maritime law with the firm for more than 40 years. He has served on the firm's Management, Hiring, Long Range Planning and Pension Committees. He regularly represents all areas of the marine industry, including cargo carriers, cruise lines, commercial vessel owners, operators and charterers, pleasure vessel owners, marina operators, terminal operators, related marine interests and their insurers and the insurance industry, protection and indemnity, hull and machinery, legal liability, cargo and including marine policies.

Practice Focus

Allan handles both litigation and transactional matters. He has defended catastrophic injury and wrongful death claims, substantial loss or damage property claims, and insurance coverage issues involving all kinds of vessels. He has handled limitation of liability actions involving vessel sinkings, allisions, collisions, multiple claimants with serious injuries, wrongful death and property damage, and the defense and prosecution of vessel arrest proceedings. He represented the vessel owners and operators and their insurers in connection with the tragic loss of the SS “El Farro,” her crew, and cargo - 33 lives and more than 500 vehicles and containers were lost. He has obtained million dollar recoveries in charter party disputes, product liability and subrogation actions. He has also handled the purchase and sale of vessels, the formation of cruise and cargo lines and negotiated and drafted the contracts related thereto, including purchase and sale agreements, charter parties, management, crew, concessionaire, construction and repair contracts.

As a seasoned maritime attorney with extensive trial and appellate experience, Allan gives his clients the benefit of his in-depth industry perspective and knowledge to resolve matters efficiently and effectively whether by negotiation, at trial or on appeal.

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Florida Bar, Admiralty Law Committee
  • Past Chair
  • Frequent Speaker

• The Florida Bar, Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee
  • Chair, 2014-2015
  • Vice Chair, 2013
• Dade County Bar Association

• Sea Cargo Americas International Congress & Exhibition, Steering Committee
  • Moderator

• Maritime Law Association of the United States
  • Past Board of Director
  • Proctor

• Southeast Admiralty Law Institute, Long Range Planning Committee
  • Speaker

• The Propeller Club of the United States, Port of Miami
  • Past President
  • Member of the Year

• American Bar Association, Tort and Insurance Practice, Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee

• Federal Bar Association, Transportation Law Section

• Defense Research Institute

• St. Rose of Lima Church and School, Development and Finance Boards

• The Florida Youth Tennis Foundation
  • Board of Directors

Speaking Engagements

• Panelist, “The Loss of the S/S "EL FARO: The Response and Lessons Learned.” Continuing Legal Education Program for the Maritime Law Association of the United States 2018 Fall Meeting, October 2018
• Speaker, "The Loss of the S/S "El FARO": Anatomy of the Response to a Tragedy." Board of Marine Underwriters of San Francisco - 22nd Biennial Marine Seminar, May 2018
• Speaker, “Limitation of Liability” Florida Bar Admiralty Law Committee Seminar, January 2018
• Panelist, "McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C. - Availability of Punitive Damages in Unseaworthiness Injury, Death and Zone of Danger Cases," ABA TIPS Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee, April 2014

• Speaker, "Peculiar Maritime Remedies and Damages: In rem prospects, Bankruptcy, Bonds, and Maritime Liens,"  The Admiralty Law & Federal Litigation Sections of the Federal Bar Association's THE COSTA CONCORDIA: WHAT IF THIS HAPPENED IN U.S. WATERS?, August 2014

• Speaker, "Evolving Issues in Cruise Industry Litigation," Cruise Line International Association Leadership Forum, Legal and Insurance Seminar, November 2013

• Speaker, "Maritime Damages Post Townsend," Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2012

• Speaker, "Recent Developments in Maritime Law," Cruise Line International Association Leadership Forum, Legal and Insurance Seminar, December 2011

• Speaker, "Recent Developments in DOSHA, the Jones Act, Limitation of Liability, and Maritime Legislation," Cruise Line International Association Leadership Forum, Legal and Insurance Seminar, November 2010

• Speaker, “The Current Status of Punitive Damages in Maritime Cases and Its Effect on Maintenance and Cure Claims,” Cruise Line International Association Leadership Forum, Legal and Insurance Seminar, November 2009

• Speaker, “Punitive Damages in a Maritime Context,” Cruise Line International Association, Legal and Insurance Seminar, November 2008

• Speaker, “Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later in the Supreme Court,” The Florida Bar, Admiralty Law Committee Seminar, May 2008

• Speaker, “Container and Chassis Liabilities and the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement,” Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2007

• Speaker, "Limitation of Liability," Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2001

Publications

• Author, “Limitation of Liability,” Maritime Law and Practice Manual, Sixth Ed., The Florida Bar, 2019
• Author, “Limitation of Liability,” Maritime Law and Practice Manual, Fifth Ed., The Florida Bar, 2017
• Author, "Admiralty and Maritime Law Certification Committee Annual Report," The Florida Bar Journal, June 2015

• Author, "Maritime Damages Post Townsend," Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2012

• Author, “Container and Chassis Liabilities and the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement,” Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2007

• Author, "Limitation of Liability," Maritime Law and Practice Manual, Fourth Ed., The Florida Bar, 2004

• Author, "Limitation of Liability," Southern Admiralty Law Institute Seminar, June 2001

• Co-Author, "Carriage of Goods and Charters," Maritime Law and Practice Manual, Second Ed., The Florida Bar, 1987

In the News

• Media Mention, 'Bold-Faced Liar': Fowler White Beats $50M Personal Injury Lawsuit Spanning 7 Years, Law.com/Daily Business Review, July 13, 2023
• Cruise Line Secures Defense Win in Case Over Passenger's Fall, Daily Business Review, January 2017

Representative Legal Matters

• Fincantieri-Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. v. Yuzwa 241 So. 3d 938 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)
• Charlevoix Equity Partners Intl., Inc. v. AIG Property Casualty Company, 2017 A.M.C. 1276 (S.D. Fla. 2017)
• Archibald v. Burke, 213 So.3d 996 (Fla. 1^st DCA 2016)
• Haimark Line, Ltd. v. Clipper Cruises, Ltd. and the M/V “SAINT LAURENT”, 2016 AMC 857 (M.D. Fla. 2016)
• In re: Sea Star Line, LLC, 2016 AMC 2013 (M.D. Fla. 2016)
• In re: Sea Star Line, LLC, 2017 AMC 277 (M.D. Fla. 2016)
• Mega International Trade Group, Inc. v. A-Link Freight, Inc., 2015 WL 3823680 (S.D. Fla. 2015)
• Miami-Dade Reef Guard v. United States Army Corp of Engineers, 2015 WL 13567707 (S.D. Fla. 2015)
• Transatlantic Lines, LLC v. Portus Stevedoring, LLC, 2015 AMC 2220 (S.D. Fla. 2015)