EMPLOYEE WHO SPENT 24.88% OF TIME ON VESSELS DID NOT QUALIFY AS SEAMAN.
RUSTY ROBERTS VERSUS CARDINAL SERVICES, INC. ET AL
CIVIL ACTION NO. 99-430 SECTION "N"
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15631
October 16, 2000, Decided
October 18, 2000, Filed, Entered
OVERVIEW:OVERVIEW: Plaintiff brought suit against defendant employer under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.S. ยง 688, for injuries sustained in an explosion on board a boat on which he was working. Defendant moved for summary judgment, alleging he was not a seaman within the meaning of the Jones Act. The court found, according to his work records, plaintiff spent 24.88 percent of his time assigned to defendant's boats. Case law established that a worker who spent less than about 30 percent of his time in the service of a vessel in navigation should not qualify as a seaman. The court found, because the evidence clearly proved that plaintiff had an inadequate temporal connection to a vessel, it was appropriate for the court to take the determination of seaman status from the jury. Accordingly, since plaintiff did not raise any questions of fact as to how much time he spent on a vessel in navigation, the court found he was not a seaman under the Jones Act and granted defendant summary judgment.
OUTCOME: The court granted summary judgment finding plaintiff failed to raise an issue of fact to contradict defendant's proof that he worked on boats under 30 percent of the time and, therefore, did not qualify as a seaman.
