Joia v. Jo-Ja Service Corp.

Citation817 F.2d 908
Decision Date01 May 1987
Docket NumberNo. 85-1753,JO-JA,85-1753
PartiesFrancisco JOIA, Plaintiff, Appellee, v.SERVICE CORP., Defendant, Appellee. Boat Niagara Falls, Inc., Defendant, Appellant.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (1st Circuit)

Thomas E. Clinton with whom Clinton & Muzyka, P.C., Boston, Mass., was on brief, for defendant, appellant.

Thomas J. Hunt with whom Law Offices of Thomas J. Hunt, Boston, Mass., was on brief, for Francisco Joia.

Richard B. Kydd with whom Michael F. Kuppens and Kneeland, Kydd & Handy, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for Jo-Ja Service Corp.

Before CAMPBELL, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, and PIERAS, * District Judge.

PIERAS, District Judge.

This is a seamen's suit for personal injuries against the employer and a water boat who had a service contract with the employer. Plaintiff, Francisco Joia (hereinafter "Joia") brought two counts against his employer, Boat Niagara Falls, Inc. (hereinafter "Niagara"), the first under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. Sec. 688, and the second under the general maritime theory of unseaworthiness. Joia brought one count of common law negligence, a state law pendent claim, against co-defendant Jo-Ja Service Corporation, 1 the owner of the water boat, (hereinafter "Jo-Ja"). Both co-defendants filed cross claims for contractual indemnity. The case was tried to a jury on plaintiff's counts, and it returned a verdict for plaintiff, finding Jo-Ja 65% negligent, Niagara 30% negligent, and plaintiff 5% negligent. The jury awarded plaintiff damages in the amount of $360,000.00, allocating $44,000.00 for past wages, $65,964.00 for lost future earnings, and $250,036.00 for pain and suffering. It also awarded prejudgment interest at the rate of 10%.

At the close of plaintiff's case, Niagara moved for a directed verdict, which was denied. Both codefendants filed motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which were also denied. The district court heard Jo-Ja's motion for limitation of liability, and by memorandum and order of judgment the court limited Jo-Ja's liability to the stipulated value of its vessel, which was $50,000.00. It entered judgment for plaintiff in the amount of $342,000.00, $50,000.00 against Jo-Ja, and $292,000.00 against Niagara. The court allowed prejudgment interest on the $44,000.00 past lost wages from August 1, 1983, onward. The assigned errors we examine on appeal relate to the denials of the directed verdict and judgment n.o.v., the limitation of liability, joint and several liability, excessive damages, and the codefendant's cross claims.

I. Factual Background

On August 1, 1983, Joia was the engineer aboard the F/V NIAGARA FALLS, an eighty-foot-long steel hull stern dragger owned by Niagara. On that date it was docked in New Bedford, Massachusetts, having just returned from a fishing trip. At approximately 5:00 a.m., the water boat CHIPPY, owned by Jo-Ja, pulled alongside the F/V NIAGARA FALLS to fill its fresh water tank pursuant to a contract. The operator of the CHIPPY, Michael Mahoney, had previously filled the fresh water tank on the F/V NIAGARA FALLS approximately six to twelve times with no difficulty finding the water receptacle. However, on this date the operator mistakenly pumped approximately 200 to 300 gallons of water into its hydraulic oil fill. The hydraulic oil tank thus was overfilled causing a mixture of hydraulic fluid and water to overflow inside the boat. This fluid mix spilled onto the floor of the engine room. After realizing his mistake, the operator turned off the water and proceeded to fill the correct tank. Joia's claim of unseaworthiness against his employer was primarily based upon the lack of proper markings to identify the separate water and hydraulic oil fills.

Mahoney called his supervisor, Clifford Davignon, at about 6:30 a.m. and informed him of the accident. Davignon told the operator that he would take care of it. He arrived at the vessel at about 6:45 a.m. to find it locked. He contacted his employer, Thomas Thomas, at about 7:00 a.m., who instructed Davignon to clean the mess.

Meanwhile, at 9:00 a.m., Joia arrived to start the engine of the F/V NIAGARA FALLS. Joia walked partway down the ladder to the engine room and stopped when he saw water and oil all over the engine room floor. He watched from the ladder for about 10 to 15 minutes to determine the cause of the mess and then left the vessel to speak to the owners. He first spoke to co-owner, Joe Beatriz, who was unaware of the problem. Joia told Beatriz that he needed a pump to pump the water out. Beatriz gave Joia no instructions. Joia then spoke with co-owner Tony Pimental, who told Joia to clean the engine room. Joia responded that he could not clean the engine room until he pumped out some of the water.

Joia, ordered by Joe Beatriz, purchased a pump at a supply store and returned to the vessel at 11:40 a.m. He stepped down the ladder and into the engine room with the pump, and saw that the water level on the floor had not changed. Joia knew from experience that the oil on the floor was hydraulic oil. As he walked through the oil and water on the deck, he slipped and fell. He sat on the deck for three or four minutes, got up and took his tools, and installed the pump. Shortly after his fall, a representative of Jo-Ja arrived on the vessel. Joia asked the representative what happened, who responded that he did not know. Joia then called his wife, who picked him up at the vessel and took him to a doctor. He suffered back injuries, and required the surgical removal of a hydrocele in his right testicle, as well as a laminectomy to remove a herniated disc.

II. Directed Verdict and Motion for Judgment N.O.V.

Niagara contends that the district court erred in denying both Niagara's motion for directed verdict and the motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. Its ground of support was that Joia breached his duty to his employer, Niagara, to maintain and keep clean the engine room on the F/V NIAGARA FALLS. The standard of review of a refusal to grant a directed verdict and a refusal to grant a judgment n.o.v. is the same. De Mars v. Equitable Life Assur. Soc. of U.S., 610 F.2d 55, 57 (1st Cir.1979). A verdict should be granted only where the evidence could lead reasonable men to but one conclusion, without evaluating the credibility of the witnesses or considering the weight of the evidence. Id. at 57. The appeals court must view the evidence most favorable to the nonmoving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences. Id. Because the standard of review is the same, we consider both motions together. With these axioms in mind, we now consider the district court's rulings.

Niagara argues the evidence shows that Joia is barred from recovery because his injuries resulted from a breach of his contractual duty to his employer, that of maintaining and cleaning the engine room, citing Peymann v. Perini Corp., 507 F.2d 1318 (1st Cir.1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 914, 95 S.Ct. 1572, 43 L.Ed.2d 780 (1975). In Peymann, the plaintiff was an engineer on the defendant shipowner's tug boat. While conducting an engine overhaul, plaintiff attempted to hook a chain fall overhead. In order to reach the hook, plaintiff was required to stand upon something to increase his height. He looked but could not find a ladder. Instead, he perched "like a bird" on an iron pipe rail, of which he knew oil constantly dripped on. He fell from his perch and was injured. The trial court directed a verdict for the defendant. The appeals court affirmed, stating that the jury could have found that it was plaintiff's primary duty to maintain the engine room in a seaworthy condition, and that stepping on the rail without wiping off the oil which was placed there by him, was his sole responsibility. Peymann, 507 F.2d at 1323. Peymann is distinguishable from the case at bar. In Peymann, the plaintiff was responsible for creating the condition which caused his injuries, whereas here, a third party over whom Joia had no control created the unseaworthy condition on the engine room deck of F/V NIAGARA FALLS. Joia testified that the maintenance of the engine room was his responsibility. Co-owner Pimental directed him to clean the mess, saying: "If you said this is a big old mess, you go clean it up." Joia responded that he needed to pump out some of the water in order to lower the oil level, otherwise, additional water would cause the oil to rise over the deck again. He then proceeded to install the pump in the engine room, where he fell and suffered his injuries.

Furthermore, had his employer not given him directions, this might be a different case. Joia proceeded only under the general directions of his employer, where in Peymann, the plaintiff proceeded under his own directions. Indeed, under these circumstances, it would have seemed futile for Joia to have first attempted to clean the deck and then to pump the water, and foolish for his employer to have so directed. We cannot say that under Peymann, as a matter of law, Joia breached his duty to maintain a clean engine room. Joia was directed to clean this mess, understood his responsibility to maintain the engine room, and proceeded to remedy the problem in a manner he saw fit. This evidence could not lead reasonable men to one conclusion. It was for the jury to decide whether Joia proceeded in a reasonable manner, and it did decide, finding Joia 5% contributorily negligent. 2 We find that the district court properly denied Niagara's motions for directed verdict and judgment on Joia's breach of duty to his employer.

III. Charge to the Jury

Niagara next argues that the district court committed prejudicial error in refusing to give its requested jury instructions regarding Joia's duty to his employer. The requested instructions dealt with the rule of Peymann, that is, if the jury found that the sole cause of Joia's injuries was his breach of duty to...

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