Morris v. Gulf Coast Rail Group, Inc. ex rel. Public Belt Railroad Commission

829 F. Supp. 2d 418, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44486, 2010 WL 1855863
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedMay 6, 2010
DocketCivil Action No. 07-05453
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 829 F. Supp. 2d 418 (Morris v. Gulf Coast Rail Group, Inc. ex rel. Public Belt Railroad Commission) 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
Morris v. Gulf Coast Rail Group, Inc. ex rel. Public Belt Railroad Commission, 829 F. Supp. 2d 418, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44486, 2010 WL 1855863 (E.D. La. 2010).

Opinion

ORDER

LANCE M. AFRICK, District Judge.

The defendants, New Orleans Public Belt Railroad (“NOPB”) and Gulf Coast Rail Group (“Gulf Coast”), have filed a motion for partial summary judgment in the above captioned case.1 The plaintiff, Lamarcus Morris (“Morris”), has opposed the motion.2 For the following reasons, the motion is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

In June 2006, NOPB, owned and operated by the City of New Orleans, solicited bids from independent contractors to upgrade its Claiborne rail yard (“Claiborne project”).3 The Claiborne project involved the removal and replacement of rail, railroad ties, and .switches.4 Gulf Coast, a company that performs track construction services for railroads, submitted a bid for the project and which was successful5 On July 7, 2006, Gulf Coast and NOPB entered into a contract entitled “Form of the Construction Contract of the Public Belt Railroad Commission, d/b/a New Orleans Public Belt Railroad.”6

[421]*421The contract describes Gulf Coast as an independent contractor, stating:

The Railroad reserves no control whatsoever over the employment, discharge, compensation of or services rendered by the Contractor’s employees, and it is the intention of the parties to this agreement that the Contractor shall be and remain an independent contractor, and that nothing in this agreement contained shall be construed as inconsistent with that status.7

The contract stipulates that Gulf Coast “shall constantly superintend all of the work embraced in this contract, in person or by a duly authorized representative acceptable to the Railroad.”8 The contract provides for NOPB inspection of Gulf Coast’s work as follows:

[A]ll work and material shall be at all times open to the inspection, acceptance or rejection of the Engineer or his authorized representative. The Contractor shall give the Engineer reasonable notice of starting any new work and shall provide reasonable and necessary facilities for inspection, even to the extend [sic] of taking out portions of finished work ... 9

In addition, the contract gives NOPB the right to request that Gulf Coast remove their employees from the job site in certain situations:

If any person employed on the work shall refuse or neglect to obey the directions of Contractor, or his duly authorized agents, as to workmanship, character of the work or quality of the materials, or if he is so incompetent, disorderly or unfaithful as to interfere with the proper fulfillment of this contract, he shall, upon the request of Engineer, be at once discharged and not again employed on the work.10

In the fall of 2006, plaintiff traveled from his home in Altheimer, Arkansas to New Orleans, Louisiana to work for Gulf Coast on the Claiborne project.11 Plaintiff received a paycheck from Lone Star Temporary Services, L.C. (“Lone Star”).12 According to Gulf Coast owner Mike Baker (“Baker”), it was Gulf Coast’s regular business practice to supplement its workforce with temporary labor from Lone Star.13 Plaintiff testified at his deposition that he was first hired by Gulf Coast superintendent Frank Bohannon (“Bohannon”) in 2005 to work on a project for Gulf Coast in Presidio, Texas.14 Plaintiff testified that he was not aware of Lone Star’s involvement in his employment until he received his first paycheck from Lone Star.15

While working on the Claiborne project, plaintiff stayed in a hotel with Gulf Coast employees 16 and received a per diem from Gulf Coast.17 Plaintiff and other Gulf Coast crew members rode in a Gulf Coast van every morning to the Claiborne project job site.18

[422]*422On September 11, 2006, plaintiff and Gulf Coast superintendent, Frank Bohannon (“Bohannon”), were replacing cross ties in the Claiborne yard.19 According to plaintiff, Bohannon instructed plaintiff to ride on the cross tie machine.20 During this task, plaintiffs right middle finger was severed by a part of the cross tie machine.21

Plaintiff asserts claims against Gulf Coast, as a third party tortfeasor, pursuant to La.Civ.Code art. 2315 and against NOPB pursuant to the Federal Employers’ Liability Act, 45 U.S.C. § 51, et seq. (“FELA”).22 Defendants contend in their motion for partial summary judgment that plaintiffs FELA claims against NOPB should be dismissed because NOPB was not plaintiffs employer within the meaning of FELA. In his opposition, plaintiff argues that he was an employee of NOPB under FELA at the time of his injury.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

I. STANDARDS OF LAW

A. Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is proper when, after reviewing “the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits,” the court determines there is no genuine issue of material fact. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). The party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the court of the basis for its motion and identifying those portions of the record that 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, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The party seeking summary judgment need not produce evidence negating the existence of material fact, but need only point out the absence of evidence supporting the other party’s case. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Fontenot v. Upjohn Co., 780 F.2d 1190, 1195 (5th Cir.1986).

Once the party seeking summary judgment carries its burden pursuant to Rule 56(c), the other party must come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The non-moving party must carry this burden as to each essential element on which it bears the burden of proof. Schaefer v. Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, 10 F.3d 327, 330 (5th Cir.1994). The showing of a genuine issue is not satisfied by creating “ ‘some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts,’ by ‘eonclusory allegations,’ ‘unsubstantiated assertions,’ or by only a ‘scintilla’ of evidence.”

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Bluebook (online)
829 F. Supp. 2d 418, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44486, 2010 WL 1855863, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morris-v-gulf-coast-rail-group-inc-ex-rel-public-belt-railroad-laed-2010.