PLAINTIFF OWN NEGLIGENCE DID NOT CREATE BASIS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT.
GLENDA CHURCHWELL, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BLUEGRASS MARINE, INC., MARQUETTE TRANSPORTATION CO., INC., and MOTOR VESSEL MARIE HENDRICK, Defendants-Appellees.
No. 05-5185
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
06a0142p.06;
444 F.3d 898; 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 10026; 2006 FED App. 0142P (6th Cir.)
April 21, 2006, Decided
PROCEDURAL POSTURE: Plaintiff, a ship cook, appealed the order of the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky that granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant vessel owners, and dismissed the cook's claims of 1) unseaworthiness in violation of general maritime law, and 2) negligence in violation of the Jones Act.
OVERVIEW: The cook's personal injury claims arose out of an accident that occurred aboard the owners' vessel. The cook sustained back injuries from a fall while cleaning up the kitchen after serving breakfast to the crew. The appellate court held that the district court erred in granting the owners' motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's unseaworthiness and Jones Act claims. The cook presented sufficient evidence such that she could prevail on both claims at trial. Moreover, contrary to the owners' assertions, the cook's own negligence did not provide an adequate basis on which to grant summary judgment. Maritime law espoused a system of comparative negligence, in which a plaintiff's own negligence did not bar recovery. The only exception to this rule was the primary duty doctrine, under which the employee responsible for maintaining safe conditions could not sue his employer for his own failure to maintain safe conditions. As the primary duty doctrine had no application, the cook's alleged negligence was not grounds for summary judgment.
OUTCOME: The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the vessel owners on the ship cook's unseaworthiness and Jones Act claims and remanded for trial.
