Worker Injured Aboard A Grain Transfer Facility Which Was Permanently Moored To A Riverbed And Moved Only On A Winch System Was Not A "Seaman" For Jones Act Purposes.
JAMES MCWATERS VERSUS LEE ENGINEERING SUPPLY CO. & CARGILL, INC.
CIVIL ACTION NO. 02-3548 SECTION "K" (4)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5752
April 7, 2003, Filed, Entered
DISPOSITION: Defendant Cargill's Motion for Summary Judgment granted, and plaintiff's claims against Cargill dismissed with prejudice.
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff injured worker sued defendants, his employer and the owner of a midstream grain transfer facility, in Louisiana state court under the Jones Act, general maritime law, the law of unseaworthiness, and the law of maintenance and cure. The facility owner removed the case, and the district court denied the worker's motion to remand. The owner moved for summary judgment.
OVERVIEW: The worker was injured while working on board the grain transfer facility. A prior opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit had held that the facility was not a vessel as a matter of law; a finding that the worker was a seaman with a substantial connection to a vessel in navigation was a prerequisite to maintaining his claims. The district court found that the worker failed to demonstrate that the facts had changed sufficiently since the Fifth Circuit's opinion so as to alter the facility's non-vessel status. The facility was permanently moored to the riverbed and was used to transfer grain and other commodities from river barges to oceangoing vessels. It moved back and forth on a winch system, and any transportation function was incidental to the facility's primary purpose. As the facility was not a vessel as a matter of law, the worker did not have seaman status, and his claims against the facility owner failed.
OUTCOME: The owner's summary judgment motion was granted, and the worker's claims against the owner were dismissed with prejudice.
