DOJ Is Turning to an Ancient Body of Law to Capture Iranian Oil Tankers. It's Been So Long Since the U.S. Used It, 'We'd Have to Conduct a Séance'

Litigation attorneys Michael Frevola and Allison Luzwick were quoted in a Fortune article examining the Trump Administration's effort to revive prize law, an ancient body of maritime law that could allow the U.S. military to seize and sell Iranian oil tankers and cargo during an armed conflict. The article explored how prize proceedings could provide a more streamlined alternative to civil seizure laws, while also raising questions about the age of the law, absence of a formal congressional declaration of war and legality of a potential blockade. Michael noted the lack of guidance on relying on a law that has not been used in more than a century, while Allison highlighted potential disputes involving neutral vessels and blockade notice.

"It's not like the DOJ has some really veteran Prize Act litigators on their staff. So we'd have to conduct a séance to wind up getting serious counsel in terms of this," Michael said.

"There's going to be arguments about whether or not that vessel is even subject to the blockade, or if they received notice about the blockade, if they intended to run the blockade," Allison added.

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