Baltimore County seeks to hire law firms to assist with Key Bridge litigation

BALTIMORE — Baltimore County plans to hire a pair of law firms to help it with the complicated legal wrangling that already has begun following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The county wants to partner with Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. and Bekman, Marder, Hopper, Malarkey & Perlin LLC, the county said in a news release. Baltimore County Council will consider the proposal at a work session Tuesday and is expected to vote next week.

The firms will “proactively pursue and address legal claims against all those responsible for the tragic Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse,” the county said.

Grant & Eisenhofer has an office in Baltimore and handles complex issues ranging from international securities litigation to bankruptcy and consumer protection. Bekman, Marder, Hopper, Malarkey & Perlin, a plaintiff’s firm based in Baltimore, brings expertise in maritime law. Managing Partner Paul Bekman is certified as a Proctor in Admiralty with the Maritime Law Association of the United States.

The county is the latest state or local entity to lawyer up in response to the bridge collapse. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office hired five law firms this month with a mix of experience in maritime law and insurance issues.

Baltimore City also hired lawyers and already filed a claim in court.

Litigation started days after the container ship Dali struck the Key Bridge early in the morning of March 26, collapsing the span and killing six members of a construction crew who were working on the bridge. The ship’s owner and manager, both Singapore-based companies, quickly filed a “limitation of liability” action aimed at capping the amount of damages they could be forced to pay at about $43 million, roughly the salvage value of the Dali and its cargo.

Parties seeking damages have until Sept. 24 to file claims against the ship and will try to show the Dali was unseaworthy when it left port. A preliminary report released by federal safety investigators last week showed the ship lost power twice the day before the crash.

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