DOCK WINCH DID NOT QUALIFY AS APPURTENANCE OF VESSEL FOR PURPOSES OF UNSEAWORTHINESS
Sean O'Donnell v. Jean McCausland, LLC et al,
Case No. 04-cv-175-PB
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
2005 DNH 158; 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29202
November 17, 2005, Decided
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Defendant vessel owner filed a motion to dismiss plaintiff crew member's unseaworthiness claim.
OVERVIEW: The crew member was injured when his arm became ensnared in the line of a dock winch that was permanently affixed to the dock. The crew member was using the winch to move a cooler filled with bait from the dock to a fishing boat, not the vessel. In granting the owner's motion to dismiss, the court held that the dock winch did not qualify as an appurtenance of the vessel because it did not travel with the vessel, was neither owned nor controlled by the owner, was not in contact with the owner's vessel when he was injured, and it was not being used to perform a function that was important to the vessel's operation. The court also held that the evidence revealed that the vessel had its own winch and did not regularly use the dock winch in loading or unloading operations.
OUTCOME: The court granted the owner's motion to dismiss.
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