Brown v. Sinclair Refining Co.

227 F. Supp. 714, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8179
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 26, 1964
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 227 F. Supp. 714 (Brown v. Sinclair Refining Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brown v. Sinclair Refining Co., 227 F. Supp. 714, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8179 (S.D.N.Y. 1964).

Opinion

SUGARMAN, District Judge.

On August 28, 1968 plaintiff, Bernard Brown, filed a complaint in this court against defendant, Sinclair Refining Company. It set forth four “causes of action”. It alleged for a first cause of action that defendant is a New York corporation with an office and principal place of business in this district (ff 1); the ownership (ff 2), operation, management and control (ff 3), of the SS M. L. GOSNEY; jurisdiction under the Jones Act, Title 46 U.S.C. § 688 (ff 4); plaintiff’s employment as a seaman and member of the crew (ff 5); plaintiff’s injuries during the period June 7, 1962 to November 23, 1962 (ff 6) ; due to defendant’s negligence in not maintaining proper ventilation on the vessel (ff 7); the unseaworthiness of the vessel “by reason of the aforesaid” (ff 8); and “by reason of the foregoing” the plaintiff’s hospitalization, disablement from employment and need for further medical care, “all to his damage in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars” (ff 9).

The complaint set forth for a second cause of action a reiteration of the allegations in ffff 1 through 5 above (ff 10); “an aggravation to pre-existing non-disabling injuries” during the period June 7, 1962 to November 23, 1962 (ff 11); a reiteration of the allegations in ff 7 above (ff 12); the unseaworthiness of the vessel “by reason of the aforesaid” (ff 13) j and the plaintiff’s hospitalization, disablement from employment and need of further medical care, “all to his damage in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars” Of 14).

The complaint set forth for a third cause of action a reiteration of the allegations in ffff 1 through 6 above (ff 15); the plaintiff’s immediate report of his injuries and request for proper and adequate medical attention and defendant’s failure to supply same and continuation of plaintiff on full duty for the entire voyage (ff 16); the unseaworthiness of the vessel “by reason of the aforesaid”' (ff 17); and an aggravation and prolongation of plaintiff’s injuries, the suffering by plaintiff of unnecessary pain and anguish by reason thereof and plaintiff’s hospitalization, disablement from employment and need of further medical care “all to his damage in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars” (ff 18).

The complaint set forth for a fourth cause of action a reiteration of “all of the foregoing paragraphs of the complaint” (ff 19) ; defendant’s duty to provide plaintiff with maintenance and cure (ff 20); and defendant’s failure and refusal to supply plaintiff with expenses of his maintenance and cure, “all to his damage in the sum of Five Thousand Dollars” (ff 21).

The complaint then demanded judgment for twenty thousand dollars, costs and disbursements.

The defendant filed its answer on October 18, 1963 setting forth admissions, denials and separate and affirmative defenses, the third of which states:

“The amount in dispute in this suit does not exceed $10,000.00 exclusive [716]*716of interest and this Court lacks jurisdiction.”

Defendant now moves for an order under Title 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and F.R. Civ.P. 8(a)(1)

“dismissing the complaint herein because this Court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of the suit”

and under F.R.Civ.P. 56

“for summary judgment and an order dismissing the third and fourth causes of action on the merits and for such other and further relief in the premises as may be proper.”

. Defendant’s counsel submits his affidavit in support of the motion in which he, in urging the requested dismissal of the fourth cause of action for maintenance and cure avers that on December 14, 1962 plaintiff sued defendant in the Civil Court of the City of New York for “maintenance” and was paid $144, the amount demanded in that suit, all of which plaintiff’s counsel admitted in a letter sent to defendant on July 18, 1963. Defendant’s counsel attaches to his affidavit a certificate from the U. S. Public Health Service Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, indicating that plaintiff was marked “fit for duty” on October 22, 1962 and another certificate from the U. S. Public Health Service Outpatient Clinic in New York, indicating that plaintiff was marked “not fit for duty” on November 28, 1962 and “fit for duty” on December 11, 1962. Upon these, defendant’s counsel argues, plaintiff received the full extent of the maintenance and cure to which he was entitled and that “the fourth cause of action must be dismissed on the merits”.

Plaintiff’s counsel meets this contention by his affidavit in opposition to the motion, in which he admits the earlier suit and defendant’s payment of the amount therein sought, but avers that that sum covered only the period from November 24, 1962, when plaintiff left the vessel, through December 11, 1962, when plaintiff was marked fit for duty by the New York Outpatient Clinic.

The last certification that plaintiff was “fit for duty” on December 11, 1962, to which date defendant paid maintenance and cure, is not conclusive. And even if it be accepted for the purposes of this motion as establishing that fact, it still would not support a summary judgment for defendant on the fourth count of the complaint for, as was held in Farrell v. United States, 336 U. S. 511, 519, 69 S.Ct. 707, 711, 93 L.Ed. 850 (1949), if a seaman entitled to and who has received maintenance and cure “receives future treatment of a curative nature he may * * * recover in a new proceeding the amount expended for such treatment and for maintenance while receiving it”. The fact question remains for decision by trial whether defendant has discharged its obligation to provide “actual maintenance and cure, or its equivalent in money, up to the time when the seaman has recovered from his disability to the extent it is reasonable to believe recovery under treatment is possible”. Muruaga v. United States, 172 F.2d 318, 321 (2d Cir. 1949). Thus, whether December 11, 1962 is that date, as defendant claims and plaintiff denies, presents a triable issue of fact compelling denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on the plaintiff’s fourth cause of action.

Defendant’s counsel’s attack in his affidavit in support of the motion, upon the plaintiff’s third cause of action is that plaintiff’s allegation that “defendant ‘failed and neglected to supply the plaintiff with proper and immediate medical care and attention; and moreover continued the plaintiff on full duties and caused the plaintiff to remain on the vessel for the entire voyage’ is wreck-less [sic] and with no support in fact” and “must be dismissed on the merits”. Here defendant relies on the certificate of the U. S. Public Health Service Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, dated October 22, 1962 indicating that plaintiff was then marked “fit for duty”. Defendant’s counsel argues that “at the time, the ship was sailing coastwise from Baltimore to Houston, Texas and the plaintiff [717]*717was at liberty to leave the vessel in Baltimore. Instead when he got back to the ship from the hospital he elected to stay on and he then sailed again to Houston and back again to Baltimore. He resigned on November 23, 1962. Up until the time he resigned he made no further complaints”.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
227 F. Supp. 714, 1964 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8179, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brown-v-sinclair-refining-co-nysd-1964.