Dolling v. Amanda Hess Corp.

83 F. Supp. 2d 843, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1682, 2000 WL 194320
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 16, 2000
DocketNo. Civ.A. G-99-284
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 83 F. Supp. 2d 843 (Dolling v. Amanda Hess Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dolling v. Amanda Hess Corp., 83 F. Supp. 2d 843, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1682, 2000 WL 194320 (S.D. Tex. 2000).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KENT, District Judge.

Plaintiff brings this action against Defendants for personal injuries arising under the Jones Act and general maritime law. Now before the Court is Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment, filed December 15, 1999. For the reasons stated below, the Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.

I. FACTUAL SUMMARY

From March 1988 until December 1991, Plaintiff worked as a master aboard a fleet of barges owned and operated by Defendants. These barges delivered petroleum products to a variety of destinations in the United States. Plaintiff alleges that while working for Defendants he was exposed to toxic substances and vapors emitted from the petroleum cargo carried on the barges. As a result, Plaintiff alleges that he developed various physical ailments; doctors ultimately diagnosed Plaintiff with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropa-thy (“CIDP”). On May 11, 1999, Plaintiff filed suit, alleging a cause of action for negligence under the Jones Act. Plaintiff also asserts claims for unseaworthiness and failure to pay maintenance and cure.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate if no genuine issue of material fact exists and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, [844]*844106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). When a motion for summary judgment is made, the nonmoving party must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Issues of material fact are “genuine” only if they require resolution by a trier of fact. See id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment. Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the lawsuit under governing law will preclude the entry of summary judgment. See id. at 247-48, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. If the evidence is such that a reasonable fact-finder could find in favor of the non-moving party, summary judgment should not be granted. See id.; see also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Dixon v. State Farm Fire & Cas. Co., 799 F.Supp. 691, 693 (S.D.Tex.1992) (noting that summary judgment is inappropriate if the evidence could lead to different factual findings and conclusions). Determining credibility, weighing evidence, and drawing reasonable inferences are left to the trier of fact. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513.

Proeedurally, the party moving for summary judgment bears the initial burden of “informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The burden then shifts to the nonmoving party to establish the existence of a genuine issue for trial. See Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 585-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56; Wise v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 58 F.3d 193, 195 (5th Cir.1995). The Court must accept the evidence of the nonmoving party and draw all justifiable inferences in favor of that party. See Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 585-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56. However, to meet its burden, the nonmovant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,” but instead, must “come forward with ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355—56 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)).

B. Plaintiff’s Claims Are Time-Barred

Defendants move for summary judgment on the basis that Plaintiffs claims are barred by limitations. Specifically, Defendants argue that Plaintiff had sufficient knowledge of the critical facts of his injuries and the cause thereof to commence the running of the statute of limitations by a date no later than early 1996. Plaintiff responds that he did not and could not have known about both his injury or its cause until at least September 1998.

The statute of limitations for claims brought under the Jones Act and general maritime law is three years. See 45 U.S.C. § 56; 46 U.S.C.App. § 763a (“[A] suit for recovery of damages for personal injury or death, or both, arising out of a maritime tort, shall not be maintained unless commenced within three years from the date the cause of action accrued”); Clay v. Union Carbide Corp., 828 F.2d 1103, 1105 (5th Cir.1987) (applying the three-year statute of limitations period to claims brought under the Jones Act and general maritime law); Cooper v. Diamond M Co., 799 F.2d 176, 178-79 (5th Cir.1986) (applying the three-year limit of 46 U.S.C.App. § 763a to claims for unseaworthiness and maintenance and cure); cf. Reynolds v. Logan Charter Serv., Inc., 565 F.Supp. 84, 86 (N.D.Miss.1983) (insinuating that had the plaintiffs injuries occurred after the enactment of 46 U.S.C.App. § 763a, the three-year state of limitations would apply to the plaintiffs [845]*845claims for maintenance and cure).1 Accordingly, all instances of personal injury — as well as claims for failure to pay maintenance and cure — occurring more than three years prior to the filing of a lawsuit are barred by the statute of limitations. Because Plaintiff filed this suit on May 11, 1999, his claims are timely filed only if his causes of action accrued after May 11, 1996. The critical issue, therefore, is determining the date when the statute of limitations took effect.

The Fifth Circuit has articulated two different rules to determine the accrual of tort claims for statute of limitations purposes: the “time of event rule” and the “discovery rule.” See Albertson v. T.J. Stevenson & Co., 749 F.2d 223, 228-29 (5th Cir.1984).

[A] cause of action for tort accrues when there has been an invasion of the plaintiffs legally protected interest, usually at the time the tortious act is committed.

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83 F. Supp. 2d 843, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1682, 2000 WL 194320, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dolling-v-amanda-hess-corp-txsd-2000.