FMC ready to review Puerto Rico cases

FMC ready to review Puerto Rico cases The Federal Maritime Commission has set three closed-door hearings Wednesday to review three long-standing cases centered on the way U.S. shipping laws apply to the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
   Hearings are set for separate claims filed with the FMC by Odyssey Stevedoring of Puerto Rico, Inc., International Shipping Agency, Inc., and the joint petitioners San Antonio Maritime Corp. and Antilles Cement Corp. The companies claim the Puerto Rico Ports Authority is violating U.S. shipping laws pertaining to port and terminal operations, while the port authority says it has 'sovereign immunity' from any FMC adjudication related to PRPA operations.
   The Solicitor General's Office has expressed doubts about whether Puerto Rico is entitled to 11th Amendment immunity as the authority claims. The 11th Amendment deals with the relationship between the federal government and states, and how the laws of each apply and overlap.