Ninth Circuit Opinion: Maintenance and Cure Subject to Child Support Order
The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that maintenance and cure payments are subject to withholding for child support, so long as those payments constitute income pursuant to applicable state law. Specifically, the Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s holding that state law controlled the issue and not maritime law, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1738B(h)(2).
The court noted that seaman’s wages are subject to attachment for the support and maintenance of the spouse or minor children and could find no reasoned basis to distinguish between a seaman’s wages and a seaman’s maintenance and cure payments in this regard. Aguilera v. F/V Alaska Juris, No. 07-35148 (9th Cir., August 4, 2008).
