Guidry v. Continental Oil Co.

Decision Date09 March 1981
Docket NumberNo. 78-3474,78-3474
PartiesMichael GUIDRY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CONTINENTAL OIL COMPANY et al., Defendants-Appellees, Travelers Insurance Company, Intervenor-Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

J. Minos Simon, Thomas D. Curtis, Lafayette, La., for plaintiff-appellant.

James T. Guglielmo, Opelousas, La., for Continental, et al.

John Blackwell, New Iberia, La., for Marlin Drilling.

Don L. Broussard, Lafayette, La., for intervenor-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.

Before BROWN, AINSWORTH and FRANK M. JOHNSON, Jr., Circuit Judges.

JOHN R. BROWN, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff, Michael Guidry, appeals grant of summary judgment in favor of his employer, defendant, Offshore Casing Crews, Inc. (Offshore), direction of verdict for defendants, Continental Oil Co. (Continental) and Marlin Drilling Co. (Marlin), and imposition of $500 sanction against his counsel for costs and expenses incurred by defendants in general actions for negligence brought under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688, and general maritime law. Guidry asserts on appeal District Court erred in (i) granting summary judgment since he was a seaman, (ii) directing the verdict, finding his conduct was the sole proximate cause of the accident, and (iii) imposing the sanction after judgment when the record was not held open, no court order was ever violated, and no motion for sanctions was made. Finding Guidry was not a seaman under the Jones Act and that the sanction was properly imposed, we affirm.

How it all Happened

Offshore is a specialist in setting and removing casing pipe in oil rigs. On July 5, 1976, Offshore sent a casing crew under the direction of Guidry as pusher to oil well Number One owned by Continental and located at East Cameron Block 42, O.C.S. 1 Marlin had contracted to drill the well, utilizing its rig Number Six, a self-elevating mobile drilling platform.

Guidry's assignment to this rig was random, it being his twenty-ninth since commencing his employment with Offshore on January 31, 1976. 2 His connection with most of the structures was brief, usually less than two days. 3 On this particular occasion, Guidry's crew consisted of Michael Hazlett as stabber 4 and floor hands Thomas Trahan, Carl Simoneaux, and John Breaux.

The drill floor of the Marlin Six had an upset rotary table. 5 As is common in such rigs, the drawworks were situated to the rear of the drill floor while the V-door, the aperture through which drill pipe and equipment is brought onto the drill floor was in front. In addition to a jerkline, 6 the rig was equipped with three lifting devices the main drum of the drawworks, the catline which operates off an auxiliary drum on the drawworks, and the air hoist. The catline was operated from behind the driller's stand 7 which provides a limited view of the drill floor and V-door through a peephole while the operator of the air hoist had an unrestricted view of the drill floor since the controls are next to the V-door.

After arriving at the rig, Guidry and his crew were assigned quarters at the direction of Continental's representative as preparations for pushing the casing had not yet been completed. Approximately twenty-four hours after arriving at the platform, Guidry was called to the rig floor to commence his duties. 8 Upon reaching the rig floor, Guidry found Marlin had already placed the various casing equipment on the rig floor. That specialty equipment included, among other things, elevators, baffle plates, tongs, a hydraulic power unit, 10,000 feet of drill pipe, and drill pipe nubbings.

Although Continental was overseer of the well, Guidry and his crew were in charge of the rig floor once they began their casing duties. After spending approximately ten minutes moving the hydraulic unit with the jerkline, Guidry noticed Hazlett was attaching the catline to the elevators. Guidry went over to assist Hazlett, 9 positioning himself in between the elevators and the rotary table so that his back was to Trahan.

Hazlett had previously sent Trahan to operate the catline. As Trahan did not have complete view of the drill floor, Hazlett gave him signals to raise the elevators. The accident occurred when the elevators hung up on one of the other pieces of equipment, causing them to swing towards Guidry. The impact caused Guidry to slip on the muddy, wet rig floor. Although he attempted to move out of the way, Guidry's right foot was crushed when the 2,000 pound elevators smashed into the upset rotary table. 10

Litigation Ensues

Due to the injuries sustained to his foot, Guidry brought this action on July 7, 1977, against Offshore, Marlin, and Continental under the Jones Act and general maritime law. In his complaint, Guidry alleged he was a seaman "at all times material hereto, ... permanently assigned as a member of the crew, operating, maintaining and controlling the vessel known as Marlin 6 and his duties encompassed the furtherance of the principal mission of (the) aforesaid vessel." Guidry contends his "injuries resulted from the negligence of defendants, ... their employees, agents and/or representatives, as well as the failure of defendants to provide (him) with a safe place in which to work." He also complained the vessel, its equipment, and appurtenances to which he was assigned, were unseaworthy. Offshore and Continental answered, denying Guidry was a seaman under the Jones Act, alleging rather he was limited to claims under the Longshoremen and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), all of which claims had been met, while Marlin denied Guidry's contentions for lack of sufficient information, averring (i) Guidry's conduct was the proximate cause of the accident, and (ii) he had assumed the risk. Travelers Insurance Company as compensation insurer for Offshore, claiming reimbursement for compensation and medical expenses paid to Guidry, was permitted to intervene under 33 U.S.C. § 933.

Prior to trial, Offshore moved for summary judgment which District Court granted, ruling that the pleadings, depositions, affidavits, and exhibits established beyond dispute Guidry was not assigned to any specific vessel or group of vessels, his assignment to any particular structure was on a random basis, most of the structures on which he ran casing was for a relatively short period of time, during waiting periods he was not performing any services which contributed to the mission of the rig, and he was not a seaman.

The remaining actions against Continental and Marlin, and the claim for reimbursement by Travelers went to trial before a jury. At the close of Guidry's evidence, Continental and Marlin each moved for a directed verdict both of which District Court granted, ruling (i) no showing was made Continental had the duty of supervising the details of the work done by either Offshore or Marlin, (ii) no evidence was before the Court that Marlin's pusher or any member of Marlin's crew was on the rig floor at time of the accident, and Guidry was (iii) in complete control of all actions on the rig floor at the time the accident occurred, (iv) responsible for the safety of himself and his crew, so that (v) his actions were the proximate cause of the accident, (vi) constituting 100% contributory negligence. Judgment dismissing the complaint with costs in favor of Continental and Marlin accordingly was entered on August 20, 1978. On that same day, the intervention by Travelers was dismissed at its own cost.

Wrangling Over Costs

Pursuant to Judgment, Marlin submitted a Bill of Costs to the Court requesting $822 for "cost of transportation to Drilling Rig offshore, Louisiana in connection with motion to compel entry" for two trips to the oil rig. 11 Costs were taxed against Guidry in accordance with this Bill of Costs on September 15, 1978. 12 Guidry immediately filed a Motion to Review and Set Aside the Bill of Costs as containing items not properly taxable under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1821 and 1920 as costs and not itemized so as to specify the charges sought for distinguishable subparts of the total claims.

Prior to Marlin's filing of its Bill of Costs, Guidry filed his appeal to this Court on September 6, 1978, with the entire record and a certified copy of the docket sheet being mailed to this Court on November 2, 1978. On February 22, 1979, the Court denied Guidry's motion, finding the costs were occasioned by his counsel's failure to make the first trip arranged at his request. Guidry on March 21, 1979, filed a Motion to Recall that ruling arguing the assessment of costs was not supported by the evidence and jurisprudence relating to such evidence. After oral argument, the Court on June 8, 1979, found that Marlin was seeking to have the cost of the first trip taxed as a sanction against Guidry for not complying with the discovery procedure he had initiated rather than taxing the expense as costs. Concluding Guidry's counsel was responsible for the necessity of the second trip, District Court assessed $500 as a sanction for failing to cooperate in the discovery procedure Guidry initiated. 13

Employer Liability Jones Act?

With respect to the grant of summary judgment in favor of Guidry's employer, Offshore, Guidry argues District Court erred since he was a seaman. He contends the Jones Act extends coverage to "seamen" and "members of the crew of a vessel," that the terms are now used interchangeably, and that he was a member of the crew of a vessel. To support these contentions, Guidry cites our well-settled standards of determining seamen status set forth in Offshore Co. v. Robison, 266 F.2d 769 (5th Cir. 1959), providing a plaintiff may qualify as a seaman

(1) if there is evidence that the injured workman was assigned permanently to a vessel (including special purpose structures not usually employed as a means of transport by water but designed to float on water) or performed a...

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