On Fri, 2 Mar 2012 17:45:29 -0500, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

wrote in message
.. .
Lozman v. The City of Riviera Beach, Florida
http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/201010695.pdf
.....................

Interesting. This decision indicates that there is a federal definition
of
'vessel' that supersedes and doesn't take into consideration the Florida
statutory definition of 'houseboat'.

It doesn't say this and it also doesn't indicate this.

In connection with the, What's a 'vessel'? question, it ruled merely
that, for the purposes of the case, that is, that 'the point' at issue
in this respect was merely whether for the purpose of determining what
may be the subject of federal admiralty jurisdiction in a foreclosure
of a maritime lien proceeding in admiralty, the federal law definition
of 'vessel' and not what states variously may adopt and use for their
state law purposes governs. Hardly interesting and not novel.

If this is true then the State of
Florida mandating a particular type of MSD for a 'houseboat' as opposed
to a 'vessel' is flawed.

This is a state law issue enforceable by the state as a matter of
state law and does not implicate federal court admiralty jurisdiction
in a maritime lien foreclosure proceeding prosecuted under federal
maritime law.


Ah, but that's where you're clearly in error. The fact remains that
federal admiralty law takes precedence over any contradictory state
statutes. The case in question demonstrates that.

Compounding your more basic because particular factual and logical
error, summarized below, what you say is The fact is largely correct
but the inferences you purport to draw from that The fact are a
classic example of question begging. You are correct that federal
admiralty law takes precedence over contradictory state law, BUT only
when/where (i) admiralty law applies and (ii) state or other local law
enacted under color of state law actually contradicts what federal
admiralty law, when where applicable, provides.

The infirmity with what presumably you would ascribe to yourself as
reasoning, why you're clearly in error, is that you have not shown and
it is not the conditions 'i' and 'ii or, for that matter, either one
applies to the scenario you've been discussing including to the 11th
circuit court of appeals 'City of Rivera Beach, etc.' ruling cited
above and discussed earlier in this thread.

Here is something for your to read.

http://www.law.ufl.edu/conservation/...sanitation.pdf

I've long been familiar with the authorities discussed in this piece
and, without discussing the accuracy and partial inaccuracy or not of
it discussion, it will suffice merely to note the following -

i. The Fla MSD regulations to which you referred do not
'contradict' federal admiralty law and you merely assume and assert
but do not demonstrate that they do.

ii. Even more basically as relevant to the discussion in this news
group thread is that the federal Clean Water Act anti-pollution and
anti-discharge requirements as relevant to this thread are not
confined to what is or is not a 'vessel' so that, whether or not the
federal definition of 'vessel' for some purposes of admiralty law does
or does not apply, bickering about what is and is not a 'vessel' for
MSD requirement purposes is actually beside the point. In other
words, these provisions of the federal Clean Water Act apply not only
to 'vessels' and instead, or more precisely in addition, to 'a vessel
or other floating craft' - and presumably you would acknowledge that,
whether a 'houseboat' is a 'vessel' or not, a housboat is a 'floating
craft'.

........................
Get the drift?

I do. But quite apparently you do not.