Feuge v. Texaco Inc.

634 F. Supp. 213, 1987 A.M.C. 1703, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26188
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedApril 29, 1986
DocketCiv. A. No. B-83-995-CA
StatusPublished

This text of 634 F. Supp. 213 (Feuge v. Texaco Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Feuge v. Texaco Inc., 634 F. Supp. 213, 1987 A.M.C. 1703, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26188 (E.D. Tex. 1986).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

COBB, District Judge.

CAME ON THIS the above styled cause, and the court, having considered the evidence presented and arguments of counsel, enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiff, Daniel R. Feuge, brings this action pursuant to the third-party provisions of the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), specifically, 33 U.S.C. § 905(b), based upon [215]*215an incident occurring on September 30, 1980.

2. On the aforementioned date, Feuge was employed by Texaco Inc., as a dock-man’s helper within the Texaco Dock Department at the Texaco Marine Terminal in Port Arthur, Texas. As such, he was not attached to the crew of any vessel, but his responsibilities generally involved the loading and unloading of ships at the Terminal and related activities.

3. The manner in which the TEXACO MARYLAND was docked on September 30, 1980, was not unusual and did not present any unique problems as to the loading of the vessel.

4. Under the customs prevailing at the Texas Marine Terminal at Port Arthur, control of the hose attachment procedure rested solely with the Texaco Dock Department which assumed total responsibility for the loading operations on the véssel. No control over the attachment procedure rested with the vessel or her crew. Control over the procedure included, inter alia, the identity and number of men assigned to the task and the equipment to be used. No contract provision, positive law or custom to the contrary existed.

5. During the evening of September 30, 1980, the TEXACO MARYLAND was turned over to the Texaco Dock Department for the unloading of the cargo. The Texaco Dock Department assigned the task of hooking cargo hoses to the manifold of the TEXACO MARYLAND to Feuge and a co-worker. These hoses were the property of the Texaco Dock Department, as was the equipment (winches and booms) used to attach the hoses.

6. Because of the inadequacies of the equipment and personnel provided by the Texaco Dock Department, Feuge requested assistance from a mate aboard the TEXACO MARYLAND. The mate authorized the use of the ship’s winch to assist in attaching the hose. The winch was unable to lift the hose.

7. No further assistance was requested by Feuge or offered by the ship’s crew. The use of the ship’s winch and withdrawal of aid by the ship’s crew in no way worsened Feuge’s position nor created a reliance by Feuge upon the assistance of the ship’s crew or equipment.

8. In the course of attaching a hose, Feuge injured his back. The injury occurred because a winch and boom which normally would be used to lift a particular hose was inoperable and thus the hose had to be lifted manually. Also, an insufficient number of workers was assigned to the task. Finally, a hose adapter was not used which would have allowed the ship’s winch to be utilized in the attachment of the hose. Each of these contributing factors were under the sole control of the Texaco Dock Department.

9. Feuge did not exhaust all avenues of assistance from the Texaco Dock Department in the form of a request for additional men or adequate equipment. Feuge was aware of these possibilities and that he was under no duty to continue the loading without such assistance.

10. The ship’s crew was unaware that Feuge and his coworker would attempt to manually lift the hose without requesting more men or adequate equipment from the Texaco Dock Department.

11. Feuge’s injury resulted from his own negligence and the negligence of the Texaco Dock Department. No act of Texaco. Inc. in its role as shipowner constituted negligence which proximately caused Feuge’s injury.

12. As a result of the injury sustained by Feuge, he was unable to work from October 1, 1980, through October 8, 1980, and from November 15, 1980, through December 1, 1980. Following his latter return, he worked for Texaco until January 13, 1983, when he resigned “for personal reasons,” except for a period of time during which his union was on strike. His resignation resulted from his facing probable termination due to his being found asleep on the job.

13. Feuge sought medical treatment from Dr. M.J. Moore following his injury in [216]*2161980, and again following his leaving Texaco in 1983. No disc involvement was found in his back, and Dr. Moore’s diagnosis has been from the inception one of acute lumbar strain.

14. Feuge sought and received LHWCA benefits from Texaco as his employer at the time of the injury. The Insurance Company of North America, as insurance carrier for Texaco, has intervened herein, seeking recovery by way of subrogation for those monies expended as compensation, attorneys’ fees, and medical care.

15. Insofar as any Conclusions of Law, infra, may be construed as a Finding of Fact, it is hereby adopted as such.

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. As noted, Feuge brings this action pursuant to the LHWCA, specifically 33 U.S.C. § 905(b). That subsection authorizes an injured party covered by the LHWCA to bring an action against a vessel where the injury was “caused by the negligence of [the] vessel.”

2. Feuge was engaged in longshoring operations at the time of his injury and, thus, was within the coverage of the LHWCA. See 33 U.S.C. §§ 902(3) and 903. Indeed, he has sought and received compensation benefits from Texaco as his employer pursuant to the LHWCA. Insofar as Texaco as that employer is concerned, specifically, the Dock Department of Texaco, this compensation liability is exclusive of all others as set forth in 33 U.S.C. § 905(a).

3. A longshoreman who is injured by the concurrent negligence of the stevedore and the shipowner may recover for the entire amount of his injuries from the ship, even though the stevedore’s negligence greatly outweighs the negligence attributable to the shipowner. Edmonds v. Compagnie General TransAtlantique, 443 U.S. 256, 99 S.Ct. 2753, 61 L.Ed.2d 521 (1979).

4. Such a separate action is authorized against the vessel even when there is no independent stevedore and the longshoreman is employed directly by the vessel owner. Under Section 905(b), however, a vessel owner acting as its own stevedore is liable only for negligence in its “owner capacity, not for negligence in its “stevedore” capacity. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation v. Pfeifer, 462 U.S. 523, 103 S.Ct. 2541, 76 L.Ed.2d 768 (1983); Castorina v. Lykes Brothers Steamship Co., Inc., 758 F.2d 1025 (5th Cir.1985).

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Related

Edmonds v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique
443 U.S. 256 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Scindia Steam Navigation Co. v. De Los Santos
451 U.S. 156 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. v. Pfeifer
462 U.S. 523 (Supreme Court, 1983)

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Bluebook (online)
634 F. Supp. 213, 1987 A.M.C. 1703, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26188, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/feuge-v-texaco-inc-txed-1986.