Summary Judgment Denied Where Seaman Performed Work Aboard A Vessel, Granted With Respect To Work Aboard A Barge
DOYLE RUSSELL HART VERSUS FOREST OIL CORPORATION, ET AL
CIVIL ACTION NO. 03-2776 SECTION "C" (2)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8027
April 25, 2005, Decided
April 26, 2005, Filed
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff employee sued defendants, an employer, a barge owner, a vessel owner, and a compressor repair company, seeking compensation for injuries he received while on a production barge. Defendants filed several motions for summary judgment.
OVERVIEW: While the employee contended that he was unable to ascertain how long the barge was located in its stationary position and that it qualified as a special purpose vessel, the depositions and discovery presented by defendants supported the conclusion that the barge was used strictly as a platform for storing and processing oil and gas. Thus, the employee did not qualify as a seaman based on work performed on the barge. Although the parties conceded that the vessel qualified as a vessel in navigation for purposes of the Jones Act, they disputed whether the employee's affiliation with the vessel was merely incidental to his employment or whether he spent a substantial portion of his time on board the vessel. In light of the employee's allegations that he spent a substantial portion of his day aboard the vessel or attending to its needs and acted as the vessel's skipper and the evidence that the vessel was essential to the performance of the employee's job duties, summary judgment was inappropriate on whether the employee was a seaman based on his work aboard the vessel. The compressor repair company was granted summary judgment as there was no evidence establishing fault on its part.
OUTCOME: The motions for summary judgment were granted with respect to the employee's status as a seaman based on his work aboard a barge and the compressor repair company's liability but was denied as to the employee's status as a seaman based on his work aboard a vessel.
