Dean v. State

542 So. 2d 742, 1989 WL 35205
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 13, 1989
Docket88-CA-2071
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 542 So. 2d 742 (Dean v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dean v. State, 542 So. 2d 742, 1989 WL 35205 (La. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

542 So.2d 742 (1989)

Jesse W. DEAN
v.
STATE of Louisiana, et al.

No. 88-CA-2071.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

April 13, 1989.
Writ Denied June 2, 1989.

*743 John R. Wellman, New Orleans, for plaintiff.

Mark J. Spansel, David B. Magee, Adams and Reese, New Orleans, for appellee, John F. Beasley Const. Co.

Before BARRY, LOBRANO and WILLIAMS, JJ.

WILLIAMS, Judge.

Plaintiff, Jesse W. Dean, appeals partial summary judgment in favor of defendant, John F. Beasley Construction Co. (Beasley), dismissing plaintiff's negligence claim against defendant under Section 5(b) of the Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), 33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq.[1] Plaintiff alleges that he was injured on July 15, 1983 in the course of his employment as an ironworker employed by Beasley in the construction of the Greater New Orleans Mississippi River Bridge II (GNO II). According to plaintiff, his job at times required him to work on a barge owned by Beasley which was moored near the east bank of the River. Plaintiff attempted to step from the wharf onto the barge when he lost his footing on a loose piling, causing him to fall head first approximately 14 feet into defendant's barge and thereby sustain severe injuries. In his petition, plaintiff basically alleges that Beasley is liable to him in negligence under 905(b) for failing to provide a gangway for ingress and egress to the barge; failing to warn plaintiff of a dangerous condition; failing to inspect and maintain the pilings.[2]

Beasley filed a motion for partial summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiff's claim did not constitute a maritime tort which is necessary to maintain a 905(b) claim. Beasley's motion was granted by the trial court. Plaintiff appealed, assigning as error the trial court's failure to find that plaintiff was covered under 33 U.S.C. § 905(b). We affirm.

In order to maintain his negligence action against Beasley under 33 U.S. C. § 905(b), plaintiff's claim must be properly characterized as one in maritime tort. Drake v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 772 F.2d 1007, 1014 (1st Cir.1985), cert. den., 476 U.S. 1126, 106 S.Ct. 1994, 90 L.Ed.2d 675 (1986); May v. Transworld Drilling Co., 786 F.2d 1261, 1264 (5th Cir.1986), cert. den., 479 U.S. 854, 107 S.Ct. 190, 93 L.Ed.2d 123. A maritime tort is one which falls within the admiralty jurisdiction. Drake v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 772 F.2d at 1012, citing Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland, 409 U.S. 249, 253, 93 S.Ct. 493, 497, 34 L.Ed.2d 454 (1972) [Court stated: (d)etermination of the question whether a tort is `maritime' and thus within the admiralty jurisdiction of the federal courts ...."]. Thus, the scope of 905(b) is co-extensive with the outer limits of federal maritime and admiralty *744 jurisdiction.[3]Christoff v. Bergeron Industries, Inc., 485 So.2d at 641. See Parker v. South Louisiana Contractors, Inc., 537 F.2d 113 (5th Cir.1976), cert. den. 430 U.S. 906, 97 S.Ct. 1175, 51 L.Ed.2d 582 (1977); Holland v. Sea-Land Service, Inc., 655 F.2d 556 (4th Cir.1981), cert. den., 455 U.S. 919, 102 S.Ct. 1274, 71 L.Ed.2d 459 (1982).

Furthermore, although state courts have concurrent jurisdiction with federal courts to hear 905(b) actions, the state courts may not enlarge federal substantive rights. Christoff v. Bergeron Industries, Inc., 485 So.2d at 641. Therefore, the requirement that the 905(b) tort be within the admiralty jurisdiction applies in state as well as federal court. Id.

ADMIRALTY TORT JURISDICTION

Historically, federal maritime jurisdiction was determined strictly on the basis of locality, covering only injuries which occurred seaward of the land, on navigable waters. Nacirema Operating Co. v. Johnson, 396 U.S. 212, 90 S.Ct. 347, 24 L.Ed.2d 371 (1969); Victory Carriers, Inc. v. Law, 404 U.S. 202, 92 S.Ct. 418, 30 L.Ed.2d 383 (1971). The federal maritime law did not govern cases in which plaintiff's injury occurred shoreward of the navigable waters, including injury on a pier or wharf. Nacirema Operating Co. v. Johnson, supra; Victory Carriers, Inc. v. Law, supra.

In its 1972 Amendments to the LHWCA, Congress responded by extending the situs upon which a maritime employee could recover workers' compensation benefits from his employer to include "any adjoining pier, wharf, dry dock, terminal, ... or other adjoining area customarily used by an employer in loading, unloading, repairing, dismantling or building a vessel." 33 U.S.C. § 903(a). In his brief, appellant suggests that this expanded situs applies to tort actions under 905(b). However, the federal judiciary has determined that, while Congress did extend the situs for purposes of workers' compensation under the Act, Congress expressed no intent to also extend the situs available for maritime tort cases under 905(b). Parker v. South Louisiana Contractors, Inc., 537 F.2d at 116; Holland v. Sea-Land Service, Inc., 655 F.2d at 559; Drake v. Raymark Industries, Inc., 772 F.2d at 1014.

Nonetheless, the Supreme Court rejected the strict-locality test establishing federal maritime jurisdiction in aviation tort cases occurring over water. Executive Jet Aviation, Inc. v. City of Cleveland, 409 U.S. at 261, 93 S.Ct. at 501. The Executive Jet court held that, not only must the locality requirement be met, but there must also exist a relationship or "nexus" between the wrong and some maritime service or navigation.

Shortly thereafter, the Fifth Circuit held the rationale of Executive Jet applicable to all tort cases, not just aviation torts. Kelly v. Smith, 485 F.2d 520, 524 (5th Cir.1973), cert. den., 416 U.S. 969, 94 S.Ct. 1991, 40 L.Ed.2d 558 (1974). The Supreme Court later expanded the rule to apply beyond aviation torts and held that it was applicable to maritime torts as well. Foremost Insurance Co. v. Richardson, 457 U.S. 668, 102 S.Ct. 2654, 73 L.Ed.2d 300 (1982).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bell v. Dunn
924 So. 2d 224 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
Antill v. Public Grain Elevator
577 So. 2d 1039 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1991)
Dean v. State
544 So. 2d 410 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
542 So. 2d 742, 1989 WL 35205, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dean-v-state-lactapp-1989.