Seaman On Tug Did Not Have Unseaworthiness Claim For Injury On Barge Being Towed Which Was Not Owned By His Employer
DERIC COAKLEY VERSUS SEARIVER MARITIME, INC.
CIVIL ACTION NO. 02-3509 SECTION "F"
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9980
May 25, 2004, Decided
May 25, 2004, Filed; May 26, 2004, Entered
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff employee brought an action against defendant employer and asserted claims for Jones Act negligence and breach of the warranty of seaworthiness. The court had previously denied the employer's motion for summary judgment on the unseaworthiness claim. The matter was before the court again after the parties submitted their trial briefs.
OVERVIEW: The employee worked for the employer on a tug. At the time of the accident, the tug had several barges under tow. The employee went to fix the sounder on the front of an unmanned barged, which was owned by another company and pulled by agreement with the employer, and the employee injured himself. He brought this action, alleging negligence and unseaworthiness. The court had denied the employer's summary judgment motion with respect to the unseaworthiness claim, but the court rescinded that order and granted the employer partial judgment as a matter of law on the issue. There was no question that the employee was a seaman with regard to the tug. However, the barge being towed by the tug was unmanned. The employee was required to establish that he was a seaman on the vessel on which he sustained the injury. The employee's work on the barge while in service of the tug did not meet that standard. The employee was not a seaman as to all barges that could be towed by the employer under its towing agreement with the company, because the group of vessels was not a finite group. The agreement was not considered a demise charter, and thus the employer did not own the barge in question.
OUTCOME: The court recalled and rescinded its previous order and entered partial summary judgment as a matter of law on the issue of unseaworthiness in favor of the employer. That claim was thus dismissed.
