In re Manson Construction Co.

883 F. Supp. 2d 659, 2012 WL 3062744, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104093
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJuly 26, 2012
DocketCivil Action Nos. 11-3041, 11-3092
StatusPublished

This text of 883 F. Supp. 2d 659 (In re Manson Construction Co.) 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
In re Manson Construction Co., 883 F. Supp. 2d 659, 2012 WL 3062744, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104093 (E.D. La. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER AND REASONS

JAY C. ZAINEY, District Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs’ Complaint Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) On Grounds of Eleventh Amendment Immunity (Rec. Doc. 15) filed by third-party defendants the State of Louisiana, through the Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration (“the State”). Third-party plaintiffs Pelican Island Oysters, Inc., Mitchell B. Jurisich, Jr., Mitchell B. Jurisich, Sr., Frank Jurisich, Althea Lynn Jurisich, Dannell Jurisich, Gulf Wave Oysters, Inc., Gulf Star Oysters, Inc., Little Mitch, Inc., Little Frank, Inc., Shell Island, Inc., Bayou Canard, Inc., Grasshopper Oysters, Inc., Prince Charming, Inc., Jurisich Oysters, L.L.C., and G.I. Joe, Inc. (Collectively, “Claimants”) oppose the motion. The motion, set for hearing on June 20, 2012, is before the Court on the briefs without oral argument.

I. BACKGROUND

This case involves losses allegedly incurred by numerous Southeast Louisiana oyster harvesters as a result of dredging operations performed by vessel owners at the direction of an agency of the State of Louisiana.

[662]*662Vessel owners Manson Construction Co. and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., LLC, (collectively “Complainants”) assert that between June of 2010 and April of 2011, Complainants’ vessels performed certain dredging operations and offloaded materials in designated rehandling sites as a part of the “Barrier Berm Project.” 1 According to Claimants, who are commercial oyster harvesters with oyster leases located in the coastal waters of Southeast Louisiana, said operations involved dredging and pumping sand near or upon Claimants’ oyster leases.

Claimants subsequently alleged that they sustained damage to their oyster leases as a result of the dredging operations, and filed suit in the Twenty-Fifth Judicial District on June 10, 2011.2 Claimants sued the State, as well as Complainants, two state contractors, and several subcontractors,3 based on those defendants’ participation in the Barrier Berm Project. In the state court complaint, Claimants assert that they have a proprietary interest in and were the lease holders of numerous state waterbottoms used for oyster bedding purposes located in the Parish of Plaquemines, Louisiana. Claimants allege that Complainants’ vessels and tows crossed their oyster leases, causing wheel washing, and that these operations rendered the leases unsuitable for oyster evaluation purposes. According to Claimants, Complainants’ activities resulted in a dramatic increase in oyster mortality rates on the oyster leases and water bottoms. Claimants further alleged that the State should be held liable for negligently authorizing and supervising Complainants’ operations.

On December 9 and December 16, 2012, Complainants Manson Construction Co. and Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. filed separate Complaints for Exoneration from or Limitation of Liability in this Court.4 Complainants each sought statutory relief under the Shipowner’s Limitation of Liability Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 30501 et seq., as a result of damage allegedly caused to the oyster leases owned by Claimants. Said complaints were later consolidated into the instant action (Rec. Doc. 5).

On March 19, 2012, Claimant oyster harvesters filed an Answer and Claim in the instant consolidated limitation proceedings (Rec. Doc. 13). The claim essentially reiterates the allegations of the state court complaint: that Complainants negligently conducted dredging operations upon and in [663]*663the vicinity of Claimants’ oyster leases, and that Complainants’ activities have resulted in excessive siltation, damage to oysters, and other harmful effects to the water and waterbottoms on said oyster leases which make them unsuitable for oyster cultivation purposes. According to Claimants, Complainants’ actions have diminished the value of Claimants’ leasehold interests and have resulted in severe losses of income to Claimants.

Claimants also filed a third-party complaint against the State, asserting jurisdiction based on 1) admiralty pursuant to Rule 9(h) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and 28 U.S.C. § 1333; 2) federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, because Complainants have indicated that they are exempt from liability under the Oil Pollution Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1321; and 3) federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, because Complainants have indicated that the activities causing the alleged injuries were “removal actions” designed to contain and remove oil associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster on the Outer Continental Shelf, thus triggering OCSLA jurisdiction pursuant to 43 U.S.C. § 1349.

The State subsequently filed the instant motion to dismiss the third-party complaint for lack of jurisdiction under Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1) (Rec. Doc. 15), requesting that the Court dismiss the claims against it in this matter on the grounds of the State’s Eleventh Amendment right to sovereign immunity against suits in federal court. The State asserts that it has not waived its sovereign immunity by any actions or by legislative enactment. Claimants counter that the State waived its right to claim state sovereign immunity in this Court when it filed multiple lawsuits seeking to recover its expenses from third parties for the same actions which allegedly caused Claimants’ damages.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and possess power over only those cases authorized by the United States Constitution and federal statutes. Coury v. Prot, 85 F.3d 244, 248 (5th Cir. 1996). If a district court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter of a plaintiffs claims, dismissal is required. See Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). The lack of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time during the pendency of the case by any party or by the court. See Kontrick v. Ryan, 540 U.S. 443, 456, 124 S.Ct. 906, 157 L.Ed.2d 867 (2004) (“A litigant generally may raise a court’s lack of subject-matter jurisdiction at any time in the same civil action, even initially at the highest appellate instance.”); McDonal v. Abbott Labs., 408 F.3d 177, 182 n. 5 (5th Cir.2005) (“[A]ny federal court may raise subject matter jurisdiction sua sponte.”).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
883 F. Supp. 2d 659, 2012 WL 3062744, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104093, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-manson-construction-co-laed-2012.