Justin G. Guthrie

Associate

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200 East Saint Julian Street
PO Box 9848
Savannah, GA 31412-0048

Tel 912.236.0261
Fax 912.236.4936

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Justin Guthrie is a litigation associate who focuses his practice on maritime and admiralty law where he has experience litigating marine casualties involving recreational, commercial, and ocean-going vessels. As a P&I Port Correspondent, Justin is regularly called on to provide the P&I Clubs and their ocean carrier members with legal advice, on-scene casualty investigation, regulatory assistance, and related services for legal matters arising in the Port of Savannah, including defending vessel interests in state and federal court. Justin also advises individuals, businesses, and insurance carriers concerning maritime personal injury and property damage, oil spill liability, vessel finance, logistical disputes, and commercial fishing and aquaculture-related casualties. In addition to assisting clients’ litigation needs, he also helps navigate certain regulatory concerns involving the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Vessel Documentation Center, the Federal Maritime Commission, and Customs and Border Protection.

Justin is admitted to practice in the state courts of Georgia and Virginia; the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of Georgia, Middle District of Georgia, and Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit; and the U.S. Court of International Trade. Additionally, he holds Qualification Certificates from the International Group of P&I Clubs with respect to his work as a P&I Correspondent.

Justin earned his J.D. and Certificate of Specialization in Maritime Law from Tulane University and his B.A. in Foreign Affairs & International Relations from the University of Virginia. During law school, Justin was an editor on the Tulane Maritime Law Journal, and he clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Aviation & Admiralty litigation division and the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington, D.C. Prior to law school, Justin was a collegiate sailor, a U.S. Sailing instructor and racer, and an oyster farmer for one of the largest aquaculture oyster companies on the Chesapeake Bay.

Experience

Practice Areas / Industries

Practice Areas

Industries

Representative Engagements

Representative Engagements

  • Provides insurance coverage analysis concerning marine insurance issues, including drafting coverage opinions and assisting in the litigation of declaratory judgment actions based on the same.
  • Defends marine insurance carriers and insureds in matters relating to insurance coverage, breach of contract, maritime personal injury and property damage, and oil pollution.
  • Assists in the representation of all member P&I Clubs, providing ocean carrier members legal advice, on-scene casualty investigation, regulatory assistance, and related services for legal matters arising in the Port of Savannah.
  • Has assisted a foreign vessel owner in the expeditious release of its vessel from arrest and successfully defended a bunker broker’s necessaries claim against that vessel.
  • Has assisted a naval architect in his defense against a shipbuilder’s breach of contract claim, resulting in a defense jury verdict, and pursued a successful breach of contract counterclaim against that shipbuilder.
  • Has assisted a marine insurance carrier in connection with the favorable pre-trial resolution of several lost fish catch and commercial fishing damage claims.
  • Has assisted a marine insurance carrier in obtaining a declaratory judgment based on a seaworthiness condition in its insurance policy and successfully defended that finding on appeal to the Fourth Circuit and on brief to the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • Has assisted a marine insurance carrier in obtaining a declaratory judgment based on a primary residence exclusion in its insurance policy.
  • Has advised commercial aquaculture clients as to maritime personal injury and Jones Act liability and assisted in drafting the amendment to the Jones Act concerning aquaculture workers, 46 U.S.C. § 30104 (b).
  • Has assisted yacht owners in the favorable representation and resolution of varying degrees of yacht damage claims against marinas and storage facilities, including fire, flooding, and total loss claims.
  • Has favorably represented consignors and logistics brokers in connection with several commercial trucking, transport, and cold storage related disputes across the United States.
  • Has favorably defended auto insurance carriers and their insureds as lead trial counsel in matters relating to insurance coverage, breach of contract, and personal injury.

Community Work

Community Work

  • UVA Club of Savannah
  • Tulane Maritime Law Journal: Alumni Mentor

Credentials

Education

Education

Tulane University Law School: J.D., 2016
University of Virginia: B.A., Foreign Affairs & International Relations, 2012

Affiliations

Affiliations

  • State Bar of Georgia
  • American Bar Association: Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section; Admiralty and Maritime Law Committee
  • Defense Research Institute
  • Maritime Law Association
  • Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute
  • Virginia State Bar

Licensed In

Licensed In

Georgia
Virginia

Insights

Articles

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Presentations

Presentations

The Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuit Update
Presented at the Southeastern Admiralty Law Institute (SEALI) Annual Seminar in Louisville, Kentucky, in June 2022.

Maritime Personal Injury and the Aquaculture Business
Presented at the East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s & Aquaculture Trade Exposition in January 2020.

A Practical Guide to the Limitation of Liability Act
Presented to the Mid-Atlantic Mariner’s Club in October 2019.

Navigating Marine Insurance from the Insured’s Point of View
Presented to the Virginia Yacht Club in October 2018.

Shedding Light on the Legal Side of Aquaculture
Presented at the Virginia Aquaculture Conference in November 2017.

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