Desmore v. Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc.

157 F. Supp. 3d 559, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6499, 2016 WL 236060
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 20, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION CASE NO. 14-2198
StatusPublished

This text of 157 F. Supp. 3d 559 (Desmore v. Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Desmore v. Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc., 157 F. Supp. 3d 559, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6499, 2016 WL 236060 (E.D. La. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

NANNETTE JOLIVETTE BROWN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Presently pending before the Court are Defendant Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations, Inc.’s (“BHOOI”) “Motion for Summary Judgment”1 and Plaintiffs Roy J. Desmore (“Desmore”) and Lillian Desmore’s (collectively “Plaintiffs”) “Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Issue of Seaman Status.”2 Having reviewed the motions, the memoranda in support, the memoranda in opposition, the record, and the applicable law, the Court will deny the pending motions.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

In their complaint, Plaintiffs allege that Desmore was a Jones Act Seaman employed by BHOOI “as a crew member assigned to a vessel in navigable waters as a wire line operator, and further, performed duties in this capacity that directly related and contributed to the accomplishment of the function, mission, and purpose [of the vessel,] the Ensco 87.”3 According to Plaintiffs, Desmore was injured on the Ensco 87 “when a side entry sub clamp failed,” causing a cable to slip and trapping his left hand between the wire line and a sheave.4 This accident caused two of Desmore’s fingers to be amputated and left him with permanent hand damages.5

B. Procedural Background

Plaintiffs filed a complaint in this matter on September 23, 2014 against BHOOI, his employer, and National Oilwell Vareo, L.P, (“Vareo”), the manufacturer of the side entry sub clamp that Plaintiffs allege failed, injuring Desmore.6 On September 29, 2014, Vareo filed an answer.7 On October 16, 2014, BHOOI filed an answer.8 On January 21, 2015, with leave of Court, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, adding claims against Ensco Offshore Company (“Ensco”), the owner of the Ensco 87.9 On March 10, 2015, Ensco filed an answer.10 On May 5, 2015, with leave of Court, ACE American Insurance Company filed a “Complaint of Intervention.”11 That same day Plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint.12

On June 26, 2015, BHOOI filed the instant motion for summary judgment,13 On August 13, 2015, Plaintiffs filed their opposition to the instant motion.14 That same day, Plaintiffs filed their cross-motion for [562]*562summary judgment.15 BHOOI filed its opposition on September 1, 2015.16 On September 9, 2015, Plaintiffs filed a reply memorandum in support of their cross-motion for summary judgment.17

II. Parties’ Arguments

A. BHOOI’s Arguments in Support of its “Motion for Summary Judgment”18

In the instant motion, BHOOI contends that Desmore “does not qualify as a seaman under the Jones Act,” and that the Court should therefore grant it judgment as a matter of law.19 In support of this assertion, BHOOI first contends that “[i]t is long and well-settled in the jurisprudence that oilfield service company workers” like Desmore, “who do not work for the vessel-owning drilling company, but rather work for service companies, and go from rig to rig to rig, performing their specialized service work for the well operators who separately hired those rigs, are not Jones Act seamen.”20

According to BHOOI, from January 1, 2013 to September 28, 2013, the date of the accident at issue here, Desmore worked approximately 150 days and spent 24 of those days aboard jack-up rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.21 BHOOI contends that this division of work time was typical for the entire duration of Desmore’s employment as a PCL Engineer with BHOOI.22 During 2013, BHOOI assigned Desmore to five jobs — three were performed aboard the Ensco 87 rig operated by Apache, one was performed aboard the Ensco 99 rig operated by Energy XXI, and one was performed on a land rig in Cameron Parish at a site operated by Chevron.23 Desmore was injured aboard the Ensco 87.24 BHOOI asserts that “[a]lthough Desmore performed three separate PCL jobs aboard the Ensco 87 rig in 2013, those jobs were assigned to him solely fortuitously, under BHOOI’s standard, first in, last out rotation of its PCL Engineers.25 BHOOI contends that Desmore was never assigned in any permanent way to the Ensco 87 rig, or any other drilling rig.26 BHOOI asserts that it “did not own, operate, charter, borrow or have anything to do with running the Ensco 87.”27 BHOOI further contends that “none of [its] employees who worked aboard the Ensco 87 ever had anything to do with navigating the vessel.”28

BHOOI argues that it did not own the vessels upon which Desmore worked during his tenure with BHOOI, and that “[i]t is simply not in the cards” for wireline workers like Desmore to be assigned to a single rig or job for an extended period of time.29

Using the 2013 calendar year as a reference, BHOOI notes that Desmore spent a total of 20 days aboard the Ensco 87, out of the 150 days he worked until the date of his accident. BHOOI argues that Desmore spent a total of 13 percent of his 2013 work [563]*563time aboard the Ensco 87, falling “significantly short of the 30% rule-of-thumb test” required to qualify for seaman status.30 Nonetheless, BHOOI contends, the issue of how much time Desmore spent offshore is not material, because the Ensco 87 was “not owned or operated by Desmore’s employer, and was not part of any ‘fleet’ owned or operated by his employer.”31 According to BHOOI, courts have “summarily rejected] seaman status claims for oilfield service company workers like the plaintiff who go from rig to rig to rig, working on different vessels owned by different owners.”32

BHOOI argues that the “jurisprudence is clear that the vessel owner/operator and the plaintiffs employer must be one and the same,” unless one of three “very narrow sets of special circumstances” are present.33 Specifically, BHOOI contends, seaman status may be found where the vessel owner or operator does not employ the plaintiff when: (1) the vessel owner or operator is the plaintiffs “borrowing employer;” (2) the plaintiffs employer “has effectively manipulated his status by choosing not to own or operate the vessels aboard which the employee performs traditional, blue water seaman work,” such as anchor handling; or (3) the plaintiff “is employed by a contractor providing a necessary vessel function to the vessel owner or operator,” such as cooks or galley hands employed by a catering contractor.34

According to BHOOI, Desmore meets none of these exceptions.35 BHOOI argues that Desmore was not Ensco’s borrowed employee, because he was paid by BHOOI, took his instruction from BHOOI, “worked solely with BHOOI’s equipment and tools,” and “was doing BHOOI’s work at all times.”36

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Bluebook (online)
157 F. Supp. 3d 559, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6499, 2016 WL 236060, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/desmore-v-baker-hughes-oilfield-operations-inc-laed-2016.