Grover v. Exxon Corp.

894 F. Supp. 291, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9783, 1995 WL 410998
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJune 28, 1995
DocketNo. G-95-112
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 894 F. Supp. 291 (Grover v. Exxon 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
Grover v. Exxon Corp., 894 F. Supp. 291, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9783, 1995 WL 410998 (S.D. Tex. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT

KENT, District Judge.

Pending before the Court is Defendant Exxon Corporation’s Motion for Summary Judgment pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). For the reasons set forth below, Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.

I. Background

Plaintiff brings this action for damages allegedly suffered as a result of the negligence of the Defendant, its agents, servants, and/or employees. On December 30, 1993, Plaintiff was employed by Profeo as a drilling fluids engineer. His duties involved monitoring and evaluating drilling fluids on the Heritage Platform, which was allegedly owned and/or operated by Defendant Exxon Corporation. The platform was located in federal waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.

Plaintiff asserts that at the time of the accident, he was engaged in testing drilling fluids, which were supposed to be drawn approximately once an hour for testing from a valve which was part of Defendant’s platform. According to the Plaintiff, the valve [293]*293was not functioning properly and Profco notified Defendant of this fact. However, pursuant to a contract allegedly entered into between Defendant and Profco, Profco was without the authority or the means to correct the condition.

According to Plaintiff, Defendant failed to repair or replace the valve. Instead, Defendant allegedly decided that a hole would be cut in the floor of the platform, so that a can attached to the end of a long handle could be dipped into the drilling fluid to obtain the necessary samples. Plaintiff asserts that this make-shift arrangement required Plaintiff to place himself in an awkward position several times during a given work shift, and additionally caused the floor in the designated area of the mud pits to become wet and slippery. While retrieving some samples in the above-described manner, Plaintiff allegedly slipped and injured his right knee, right leg, and body generally.

On March 1,1995, Plaintiff filed suit in this Court asserting negligence against the Defendant and alleging that Defendant failed in its duty to provide the Plaintiff with a safe place in which to work. On April 6, 1995, Defendant filed its Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing that Plaintiffs suit is time-barred by the applicable California statute of limitations pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (hereinafter “OCS-LA”), 43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). In support of its Motion, Defendant asserts that the California Code of Civil Procedure prescribes a one-year statute of limitations for “injury to or for the death of one caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another....” Cal. Civ.Proc.Code § 340(3) (West 1995). Thus, Defendant asserts that in this personal injury suit based on negligence, the case must be brought no later than one year after the cause of action accrues.

On April 27, 1995, this Court granted Plaintiffs Motion for Leave to File his First Amended Complaint. There, Plaintiff asserts a cause of action for breach of contract, which in California is governed by a four-year statute of limitations. Plaintiff further asserts a cause of action for injuries arising out of improvements to real property, which is subject to a four-year statute of limitations for patent defects.

II. Standard of Review

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. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. A fact is material if its resolution in favor of one party might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A genuine issue of material fact exists if there is a genuine issue for trial that must be decided by the trier of fact. In other words, summary judgment should not be granted if the evidence indicates that a reasonable fact-finder could find in favor of the non-moving party. Id. See also Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986).

In ruling on a Motion for Summary Judgment, the Court must accept the evidence of the non-moving party and draw all justifiable inferences in his favor. Credibility determinations, weighing of the evidence, and the drawing of reasonable inferences are left to the trier of fact. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, supra, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513.

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e), the moving party 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 demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once this burden is met, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to establish the existence of a genuine issue for trial. Matsushita, supra, 475 U.S. at 585-87, 106 S.Ct. at 1355-56; Leonard v. Dixie Well Serv. & Supply, Inc., 828 F.2d 291, 294 (5th Cir.1987).

Where the moving party has met its Rule 56(c) burden, the non-movant “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts ... [T]he non-moving party must come forward with ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ Where the [294]*294record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party, there is no genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita, supra, 475 U.S. at 596-97, 106 S.Ct. at 1361-62 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e)) (emphasis in original).

III. Discussion

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act governs accidents occurring on the outer continental shelf and provides that:

To the extent that they are applicable and not inconsistent with this subehapter or with other Federal laws and regulations ... the civil and criminal laws of each adjacent State ... are hereby declared to be the law of the United States for that portion of the ... Outer Continental Shelf ... which would be within the area of the State if its boundaries were extended seaward to the outer margin of the Outer Continental Shelf ...

43 U.S.C. § 1333(a)(2)(A). The United States Supreme Court has held that the law of the adjacent State would become surrogate Federal law on fixed platforms on the Shelf to the exclusion of rules of admiralty and common law. Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.,

Related

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920 F. Supp. 1330 (S.D. Texas, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
894 F. Supp. 291, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9783, 1995 WL 410998, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/grover-v-exxon-corp-txsd-1995.