Carl Joseph Benoit, et ux. v. St. Charles Gaming Company, Inc.

I. Whether a riverboat gaming vessel is “practically capable of navigation” as per the Court’s decision in Stewart v. Dutra Constr. Company, 543 U.S. 481, 496, 125 S. Ct. 1118, 160 L.Ed.2d 932 (2005) and Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 133 S. Ct. 735, 184 L.Ed.2d 604 (2013) when the undisputed evidence shows that the vessel: 1) has operable steering and propulsion making it fully and practically capable of navigating on open water; 2) carries a crew including captain, engineer, and boatswain mates which maintain the vessel’s engines, generators, and navigational equipment; 3) is moored in a shipping channel and uses its engines to hold position when other ocean going vessels pass; 4) must by State law be designed and built to mimic an 1800’s era paddlewheel steamboat. II. Whether a riverboat gaming vessel moored in a shipping channel and otherwise practically capable of navigation remains a vessel when the undisputed evidence shows it can quickly and easily release its moorings and other shoreside connections within a couple of hours to sail on navigable waters even though the owner chooses not to do so.