Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company v. O'LEARY

• Decision Date: 13 December 1963
• Docket Number: No. 5942.,5942.
• Citation: Puget Sound Bridge & Dry Dock Company v. O'LEARY, 224 F. Supp. 557 (W.D. Wash. 1963)
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Washington
• Parties: PUGET SOUND BRIDGE & DRY DOCK COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. J. J. O'LEARY, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Employee's Compensation, Fourteenth Compensation District, United States Department of Labor, Defendant.

224 F. Supp. 557

PUGET SOUND BRIDGE & DRY DOCK COMPANY, Plaintiff, v.J. J. O'LEARY, DeputyCommissioner, Bureau of Employee's Compensation, Fourteenth Compensation District, United States Department of Labor, Defendant.

No. 5942.

United States District Court W. D. Washington, N. D.

December 13, 1963.

Edward S. Franklin, of Bogle, Bogle & Gates, Seattle, Wash., for plaintiff.

Brockman Adams, U. S. Atty., Seattle, Wash., Douglas M. Fryer, Atty., Admiralty & Shipping Section, Dept. of Justice, Seattle, Wash., and Keith R. Ferguson, Special Asst. to the Atty. Gen., Dept. of Justice, San Francisco, Cal., for defendant.

John J. O'Connell, Atty. Gen., of the State of Washington, John C. Martin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Olympia, Wash., amicus curiae.

BEEKS, District Judge.

The Bureau of Employee's Compensation, having been struck down in an attempt to extend its jurisdiction and authority to an injury occurring on a dock, pier or wharf, Atlantic Stevedoring Company v. O'Keeffe(S.D.Ga.1963), 220 F. Supp. 881, now seeks to extend it into a new and different field.

The facts of the case are not in dispute and are substantially as follows: On May 15, 1962, claimant, Robert H. Bradley, a machinist employee of plaintiff, was severely injured while installing a rudder post bearing on the stern of the USNS "COCHRANE", which was lying on plaintiff's building way, PlantNo. 1, Seattle, Washington, when he was struck by a piece of timber and knocked from the scaffolding on which he was working to the building way below.

The building way on which the accident occurred is a permanent shipyard structure located entirely on land which was designed and is used exclusively for new ship construction.To facilitate the launching of completed vessels, the outermost or seaward end of the building way extends into the water on an incline.The tide ebbs and flows around this outermost portion.

At the time of the claimant's accident, the "COCHRANE" was unlaunched.Indeed, it did not become waterborne nor had it undergone "baptismal rites" until some two months following the accident.

The jurisdictional provisions of the Act are set forth in Section 3(a),33 U.S.C. § 903(a), and limit the award of compensation for disability or death as follows:

"Compensation shall be payable under this chapter in respect of disability or death of an employee, but only if the disability or death results from an injury occurring upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any dry dock) * * *."(Emphasis added)

The defendant Deputy Commissioner made the following jurisdictional finding:

"* * * that the injury sustained by claimant occurred `upon the navigable waters of the United States (including any dry dock);' that the building way in which the vessel was being constructed is such a dock within the meaning of the statute. * * *"

Defendant contends that there is a presumption of coverage under Section 20 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. § 920, which compels the court to sustain the compensation award.The court disagrees.Such presumption is inapplicable with regard to the question of jurisdiction, Atlantic Stevedoring Company v. O'Keeffe, supra;Alaska Airlines v. O'Leary(W.D.Wash.1963), 216 F.Supp. 540, but even assuming the presumption to be applicable, the conclusion of the Deputy Commissioner is overcome by substantial and convincing evidence and is patently erroneous.

During argument defendant wisely abandoned his claim that the ship building way involved in this...