Doxey v. Lake Charles Pilots, Inc.

781 So. 2d 589, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 0530, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 80, 2001 WL 83620
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJanuary 31, 2001
Docket00 0530
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 781 So. 2d 589 (Doxey v. Lake Charles Pilots, Inc.) 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
Doxey v. Lake Charles Pilots, Inc., 781 So. 2d 589, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 0530, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 80, 2001 WL 83620 (La. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

781 So.2d 589 (2001)

Hubern DOXEY
v.
LAKE CHARLES PILOTS, INC.

No. 00 0530.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

January 31, 2001.
Writ Denied May 4, 2001.

*590 J.B. Jones III, Jones Law Firm, Cameron, LA, Counsel for Plaintiff/Appellant Hubern Doxey.

Kenneth Michael Wright, Lake Charles, LA, Counsel for Defendant/Appellee Lake Charles Pilots, Inc.

Court composed of Chief Judge DOUCET, Judge SULLIVAN, and Judge GREMILLION.

GREMILLION, Judge.

This matter is on remand from the Louisiana Supreme Court for briefing, argument, and opinion. We originally granted writs in favor of the plaintiff, Hubern Doxey, finding that the trial court erred in ruling that he could not meet the jurisdictional limits for a jury trial based on a finding that punitive damages were not available under general maritime law. See an unpublished writ 00-0530 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/17/00). Thereafter, the defendant, Lake Charles Pilots, Inc., sought supervisory writs from the supreme court, which granted the writ and remanded the matter to us. For the following reasons, we affirm our granting of Doxey's writ because we find that punitive damages are available under general maritime law under the facts at issue.

FACTS

On February 26, 1999, Doxey was attempting to launch his sixteen-foot boat into the Calcasieu Ship Channel from a boat launch located at the jetties in Cameron, Cameron Parish, Louisiana. After he had backed his boat trailer down the launch, but before he could release the boat from the trailer, the wake from a passing vessel lifted the truck and trailer up and then pulled them down into the channel as the water was sucked out from underneath them. The damage from the salt water caused Doxey's insurance company to total the truck. The name of the vessel which allegedly caused this damage was the M/V OLYMPIC FLAIR.

Doxey filed suit against Lake Charles Pilots alleging that the pilot in control of the M/V OLYMPIC FLAIR at the time of this incident acted in a wanton and reckless manner, which amounted to a conscious disregard of his rights. Since his damages were caused by a vessel on navigable water, Doxey further alleged that admiralty jurisdiction existed under the Admiralty Extension Act, 46 U.S.C. 740. The damages sought by him were comprised of the value of his truck, economic loss from being unable to work as a commercial fisherman, mental anguish, punitive damages under general maritime law, and any other damages proved at trial. Doxey further prayed for a trial by jury.

*591 Lake Charles Pilots answered denying liability. It further argued that Doxey was not entitled to a jury trial pursuant to La.Code Civ.P. art. 1732(6) since he alleged a claim under admiralty law. Thereafter, Doxey filed a Motion for an Order of Jury Trial, alleging that it was solely his choice to decide whether his claim was heard by a jury. Prior to the hearing on the motion, Doxey's deposition was taken at the insistence of Lake Charles Pilots. During his testimony, he admitted that his pecuniary damages resulting from this incident probably totaled less than $25,000. On February 14, 2000, the trial court denied Doxey's motion and ruled that he was not entitled to a jury trial. A judgment denying the motion was signed on March 15, 2000.

On an application for supervisory writs, we granted the writ finding that the trial court erred in ruling that Doxey could not meet the $50,000 jurisdictional limit for a jury trial on the grounds that punitive damages were unavailable under general maritime law. The trial court's ruling was reversed and the matter was remanded for further proceedings. Thereafter, Lake Charles Pilots applied for writ of certiorari and/or supervisory writs from the Louisiana Supreme Court. That court granted the writ and remanded the matter to this court for briefing, argument, and opinion. Following the remand, an order was granted by this court staying all proceedings in the trial court pending this appeal.

ISSUE

The issue before this court is whether punitive damages are available under general maritime law.

DISCUSSION

Pursuant to the Admiralty Extension Act, admiralty jurisdiction extends to this matter since the damage was caused by a vessel on navigable waters. 46 U.S.C.A.App. § 740 (1994); In re Amtrak "Sunset Limited" Train Crash, 121 F.3d 1421 (11th Cir.1997), cert. denied sub nom, Altosino v. Warrior & Gulf Navigation Co., 522 U.S. 1110, 118 S.Ct. 1041, 140 L.Ed.2d 106 (1998). Accordingly, substantive admiralty law applies. Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A., v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199, 116 S.Ct. 619, 133 L.Ed.2d 578 (1996).

We will first review the federal cases dealing with the availability of punitive damages under general maritime law. In Miles v. Apex Marine Corp., 498 U.S. 19, 111 S.Ct. 317, 112 L.Ed.2d 275 (1990), the United States Supreme Court clarified that its prior holding in Moragne v. States Marine Lines, Inc., 398 U.S. 375, 90 S.Ct. 1772, 26 L.Ed.2d 339 (1970), created a general maritime cause of action for the wrongful death of a seaman, even when the death occurred in territorial waters. Prior to reaching a decision, the Court reviewed its decision in Moragne thoroughly. The main theme of Moragne was the need for uniformity in the exercise of admiralty jurisdiction. It pointed out that the rise of unseaworthiness as a theory of recovery under the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) had resulted in the development of three anomalies in maritime law, upsetting the uniformity previously existing when negligence was the main theory of recovery in maritime wrongful death actions.[1] In order to reestablish *592 that uniformity, the Court overruled The Harrisburg, 119 U.S. 199, 7 S.Ct. 140, 30 L.Ed. 358 (1886), which held that there was no cause of action for wrongful death under general maritime law. The Court in Miles, stated:

This result was not only consistent with the general policy of both 1920 Acts [the Jones Act and DOHSA] favoring wrongful death recovery, but also effectuated "the constitutionally based principal that federal admiralty law should be `a system of law coextensive with, and operating uniformly in, the whole country.'"

Miles, 498 U.S. at 27, 111 S.Ct. at 322-23, quoting Moragne, 398 U.S. at 402, 90 S.Ct. at 1788, quoting The Lottawanna, 21 Wall. 558, 575, 22 L.Ed. 654 (1874).

In confirming that Moragne created a general maritime wrongful death action, Miles applied the same reasoning used by that court to reach its decision. It stated:

We have described Moragne at length because it exemplifies the fundamental principles that guide our decision in this case. We no longer live in an era when seamen and their loved ones must look primarily to the courts as a source of substantive legal protection from injury and death; Congress and the States have legislated extensively in these areas.

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

Related

Warren v. Shelter Mutual Insurance Co.
196 So. 3d 776 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2016)
Fox v. State
129 So. 3d 208 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2013)
Williams v. State
4 So. 3d 388 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Smith v. State
1 So. 3d 937 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2009)
Edwards v. State
946 So. 2d 822 (Court of Appeals of Mississippi, 2007)
Boucvalt v. SEA-TRAC OFFSHORE SERVICES
943 So. 2d 1204 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)
Quinn v. St. Charles Gaming Co., Inc.
815 So. 2d 968 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2002)
Poe v. PPG Industries
782 So. 2d 1168 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2001)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
781 So. 2d 589, 0 La.App. 3 Cir. 0530, 2001 La. App. LEXIS 80, 2001 WL 83620, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doxey-v-lake-charles-pilots-inc-lactapp-2001.