Rains v. Diamond M. Co.

396 So. 2d 306
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMay 1, 1981
Docket8014
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 396 So. 2d 306 (Rains v. Diamond M. Co.) 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
Rains v. Diamond M. Co., 396 So. 2d 306 (La. Ct. App. 1981).

Opinion

396 So.2d 306 (1981)

Kenneth Dale RAINS, Plaintiff and Appellee,
v.
DIAMOND M. COMPANY et al., Defendants and Appellants.

No. 8014.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit.

February 4, 1981.
Rehearing Denied March 23, 1981.
Writ Refused May 1, 1981.

*308 Davis & Simmons, Kenneth N. Simmons, Many, for plaintiff-appellee-appellant.

Raggio, Cappel, Chozen & Berniard, Richard A. Chozen, Lake Charles, for defendant-appellee.

Allen, Gooch & Bourgeois, Arthur I. Robison, Lafayette, for defendant-appellant-appellee.

Before CULPEPPER, GUIDRY and CUTRER, JJ.

CULPEPPER, Judge.

Kenneth Dale Rains brings this action under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.A. Sec. 688 and General Maritime Law against Diamond M Company, his employer, for injuries sustained while working as a roustabout on a semi-submersible drilling rig located off the shore of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. Joined as parties defendant are Marathon Oil Company, the company for whom the drilling operations were being performed, B. J. Hughes, Inc., furnisher of certain equipment on the rig, and Bobby Painter and Ricky Greer, two Diamond M employees.

The claim against defendant Ricky Greer was dismissed on a motion for directed verdict after presentation of plaintiff's case. After trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff and against the defendants, Diamond M, Marathon, and Bobby Painter for the sum of $350,000. Negligence was apportioned 80% to Diamond M, 15% to Marathon and 5% to Bobby Painter. The jury rejected plaintiff's claim against *309 Hughes. Diamond M, Marathon and Bobby Painter appealed. Plaintiff answered the appeal, seeking an increase in the award from $350,000 to $950,000, and judgment against B. J. Hughes, Inc. as well.

There are several issues: (1) Was the evidence sufficient to prove negligence on the part of Bobby Painter, foreman for Diamond M? (2) Can Bobby Painter, plaintiff's co-employee, be liable under the Jones Act? (3) Is Marathon liable, either under the Jones Act or General Maritime Law? (4) Is B. J. Hughes, Inc. liable? (5) Was plaintiff contributorily negligent? (6) Was the damage award excessive? (7) Were excessive costs taxed against defendants? (8) Were excessive expert witnesses' fees assessed against defendants? (9) Did the trial court err in refusing to allow evidence of false answers by jurors on voir dire at the motion for a new trial and also in refusing to grant a new trial?

GENERAL FACTS

The Diamond M rig, known as the "Century", was located approximately 130 miles off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf. Pursuant to an offshore drilling contract entered into with Marathon, Diamond M furnished the drilling vessel, equipment and necessary personnel for drilling operations. The contract further provided that Diamond M had the authority to control and direct the details of the work. However, Marathon had personnel on board the Century during the drilling.

Plaintiff, 22 years of age, had been employed by Diamond M for approximately eight months. On the date of the accident, he was a member of a crew on the Century engaged in placing a casing hanger into an opening in the drill floor deck, known as a rat hole. The casing hanger, a hollow tube-like structure approximately six feet long and 13 inches in diameter, and weighing several hundred pounds, was hooked to a crane cable by the crew. The cable was run through the center of the casing hanger and attached to the end with a hook. Bobby Painter, operator of the crane located about 70 feet from the rat hole, lifted the casing hanger and moved it toward the hole. Plaintiff and other members of the crew directed Painter by hand signals and guided the casing hanger into the rat hole as it was being lowered by Painter. A problem developed when the casing hanger would not completely lower into position due to an obstruction in the hole. Painter raised the hanger a few inches and let it drop several times by its own weight. When this failed, the crew directed Painter to raise the casing hanger out of the rat hole. As the hanger was almost completely out of the hole, the hook somehow came loose from the bottom of the casing hanger. The casing hanger fell upon plaintiff, causing him severe injuries.

NEGLIGENCE OF BOBBY PAINTER AND DIAMOND M

We recognize at the outset our limited role in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence. Although this court is constitutionally authorized to review both the law and the facts in civil cases, under Federal Law and jurisprudence, which we must follow in cases applying Federal statutes, the jury's finding of fact cannot be disturbed by an appellate court unless there is no reasonable evidentiary basis for the jury's conclusions. Trahan v. Gulf Crews, Inc., 260 La. 29, 255 So.2d 63 (1971) and cases cited therein.

The Jones Act grants to any seaman a cause of action for personal injury caused by negligence of his employer. 46 USCA, Sec. 688. Plaintiff's status as a seaman within the meaning of the Jones Act is not disputed. Also, there is no dispute that plaintiff was employed by Diamond M at the time of the accident.

As plaintiff's Jones Act employer, Diamond M was under a duty to provide plaintiff with a reasonably safe place to work. Spinks v. Chevron Oil Company, 507 F.2d 216 (5th Cir. 1975). This broad duty is such that if plaintiff can show his injuries were the result of even the slightest negligence of his employer, liability follows. Davis v. Hill Engineering, Inc., 549 F.2d 314 (5th Cir. 1977).

*310 Defendants argue plaintiff has failed to prove his injuries were caused by the negligence of any party. They offer no explanation for the cause of the accident. Defendants point to evidence that the procedure followed in installing the casing hanger had been used several times in the past by this same crew without mishap. Essentially, defendants argue it was an unavoidable accident, and that no one was negligent.

In its brief, Diamond M emphasizes the lack of evidence to pinpoint the exact cause of the hook becoming disengaged from the bottom of the casing hanger. Bobby Painter and the members of the crew who were at the rat hole testified that as Painter raised the casing hanger to a position where its bottom was about flush with the top of the rat hole, the hanger fell and struck plaintiff. Plaintiff testified he was told after the accident by Bobby Painter that the hook on the end of the cable struck the top of the rat hole and "sprung out". However, in previous deposition testimony, plaintiff stated he was told the hook bent. Under cross-examination at trial, plaintiff admitted he had no personal knowledge as to why the casing hanger fell. Arnold MacAlexander, a member of the crew, testified that when the bottom of the casing hanger came flush with the top of the rat hole the hook sprang loose somehow. In his accident report, Bobby Painter stated that "the hook simply hung on the edge" of the rat hole and came off. But, during trial, Painter admitted this was speculation on his part.

Under the Jones Act, a jury verdict may be sustained when there is evidence from which a jury might reasonably infer negligence. Sanford Bros. Boats, Inc. v. Vidrine, 412 F.2d 958 (5th Cir. 1969).

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396 So. 2d 306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rains-v-diamond-m-co-lactapp-1981.