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Transportation

We appreciate that Hampton Roads functions daily as an elite multimodal gateway for the world with the East Coast’s deepest port, world’s largest naval base, Fortune 500 railroad companies and international and regional airports.  Our attorneys enjoy helping clients thrive in a multitude of industries participating in global, national, regional and local transportation.  Pender & Coward offers steady and experienced hands guiding clients through foreseen and unforeseen obstacles to their success and managing risks associated with business endeavors in close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the Chesapeake Bay, multiple rivers, interstates, airports and railroads.  Our diverse teams of attorneys assist clients with contract development and negotiation, contract disputes, personal injury claims and defense, cargo and property damage claims defense, navigational claims and right of way acquisitions (transactional and litigation), relocation claims and inverse condemnation claims.  We have experience with matters involving private marine terminals, airport authorities, chassis pools, railroads, drayage companies, trucking companies, stevedores, state and local transit authorities, departments of transportation, right of way consultants, tug and barge companies, freight forwarders and NVOCCs.

Clients rely on our depth of diverse litigation and negotiation experience, our historical knowledge and numerous contacts in the transportation industries that service Hampton Roads and the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Our clients benefit from our holistic approach to solving issues and value our insights developed through involvement in the transportation and maritime community in organizations such as the Virginia Maritime Association, the Hampton Roads Global Commerce Council, the Norfolk Propeller Club, and the International Right of Way Association.  Also visit our Maritime and Eminent Domain/Right of Way pages for more detailed information about those practice areas.

Our transportation law attorneys handle numerous issues including but not limited to:

  • Cargo damage
  • Cargo transactions
  • Charter agreements
  • Coast Guard investigations
  • Coast Guard proceedings
  • Customs
  • Drayage contracts
  • Immigration
  • Inverse condemnation
  • Marine incentive agreements and tariffs
  • Overweight citations
  • Personal injury
  • Right of way acquisition
  • Ship investigations
  • Vessel financing
  • Vessel documentation
Representative Cases and Transactions
  • Defeated inverse condemnation suits by over a dozen residential landowners against a regional airport involving claims that aircraft noise had increased as the airport's use took or damaged their properties.

  • Successfully defended railroad crossing personal injury claim affecting public marine terminal and Fortune 500 railroad company.

  • Successfully defended Carmack and COGSA cargo damage claim for public marine terminal.

  • Worked with foreign vessel and U.S. Coast Guard to resolve wharfinger dispute at private marine terminal.

  • Defended port's chassis pool in personal injury over the road trucking accident.