Kenny was born in Lompoc, California. He is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (2010), Kings Point, where he earned a degree in Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management, and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S Navy Reserve. He received his law degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 2019, with a Certificate in Intellectual Property. Kenny has a diverse background in many areas of the maritime industry including oil and gas, shipyard operations, and extensive sailing experience on Ro-Ro, Container, Tanker, Drilling and Tug vessels. Kenny also holds United States Coast Guard licenses including: First Assistant Engineer (Motor), Unlimited Horsepower; Third Assistant Engineer (Steam and Gas Turbine), Unlimited Horsepower; Chief Engineer (Motor), 1600 Gross Registered Tons, Oceans, Near Coastal, and Great Lakes.
Kenny is admitted to practice in Illinois state courts, as well in U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District of Michigan, and Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Practice Description: Kenny practices in the area of admiralty and maritime law, including Limitation of Liability Actions; Cargo Damage; Insurance Coverage; Jones Act Personal Injury; General Average and Salvage; Collisions/Allisions; U.S. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act; Hague-Visby Rules; and Bareboat Charter Issues. Kenny also practices in the areas of inland motor transportation and international air transportation, including the defense of property brokers and freight forwarders.
Associations and Memberships: Kenny is a member of the Maritime Law Association of the United States and Transportation Lawyers Association. He currently holds the position of Secretary for the Young Lawyers Committee of the Maritime Law Association of the United States.
Notable Cases:
In re ONE APUS Container Ship Incident, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 217757, 2022 WL 17370122 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 2, 2022). Represented numerous non-vessel operating common carriers in a multidistrict litigation involving a container stow collapse of approximately 2,000 containers during the carrying vessel’s voyage from China to California. We successfully moved the court to order alternative service of pleadings on foreign shipowner (Japan), bareboat charterer (Panama), and vessel operator (South Korea) in lieu of service through the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents and the Inter-American Convention on Letters Rogatory, by serving filings on known U.S. counsel for the foreign entities.
Rimac Seguros Y Reaseguros v. C.H. Robinson Int’l, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46316 (D. Minn. 2022). Represented non-vessel operating common carrier in matter relating to the ocean carriage of automotive parts from Florida to Peru. Carrying vessel ran aground while departing Ecuador, resulting in the vessel owner declaring general average. Cargo insurers paid pro rata share for the general average expenses, and sought to recover those sums paid from the non-vessel operating common carrier in federal court. We successfully argued against cargo insurer’s motion to dismiss non-vessel operating common carrier’s counterclaim for indemnity under the house bill of lading.
Gargoyle Granite & Marble, Inc. v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 225244 (D. Id. 2021). Obtained dismissal with prejudice of Carmack Amendment claims against property broker client, as well and all negligence claims based on Federal preemption in claim involving cargo loss and damage.
Articles, Speeches and Presentations:
“Another Arrow in the Transportation Intermediaries’ Quiver: Using the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act to Enforce Online Terms and Conditions,” The Transportation Lawyer, Vol. 24, No. 2, October 2022
Key Case Summary, Broumand v. Joseph, 522 F.Supp.3d 8 (S.D.N.Y. 2021), Maritime Law Association: Arbitration and ADR Committee Spring 2022 Newsletter
Panelist, “The Wavy Lines of Admiralty Law and Jurisdiction,” Transportation Lawyer’s Association, Chicago Regional Meeting (Jan. 2022).
“Revisiting the Seaman’s Manslaughter Statute after the P/V Conception Tragedy,” Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Vol. 19, No. 4 (4th Quarter 2021).
Speaker, “The M/V Conception Investigation and Captain’s Liability Concerns,” The Chicago Shipmaster’s Association (August 2021).
