USCA - Court No Jurisdiction on Fraud Sanctions

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ruled that the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act does not give the district court jurisdiction to sanction a claimant for contempt for filing a false claim for benefits under the Act.In A-Z Int'l v. Phillips (03/21/03 - No. 01-56689), Phillips filed a claim for benefits in alleging injury while working on an offshore oil rig, Hermosa. Ultimately, the ALJ on 3/26/93 found that Phillips did not sustain any such injury. On 4/11/95 the ALJ issued a Supplemental Decision Certifying Facts and Recommending Sanctions ("Supplemental Decision"...