Cason v. Diamond M Drilling Co.
| Decision Date | 28 June 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82,82 |
| Citation | 436 So.2d 1245 |
| Parties | Delton H. CASON v. DIAMOND M DRILLING COMPANY, et al. CA 0638. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
William B. Baggett, Baggett, McCall, Singleton, Ranier & Ieyoub, Lake Charles, for plaintiff.
Joseph J. Weigand, Jr., Weigand & Siegrist, Houma, for Diamond M Drilling Co., defendant and third party plaintiff.
Randall Theunissen, Allen Gooch & Bourgeois, Lafayette, for Union Oil Co., defendant and third party plaintiff.
Before EDWARDS, WATKINS and SHORTESS, JJ.
This is a personal injury action brought by Delton H. Cason against Diamond M Drilling Company and Union Oil Company of California for injuries sustained by Cason when a well guide or templet on which Cason was engaged in welding fell into the Gulf of Mexico from a jackup rig, Diamond M 99. Diamond M had drilled a well from the rig, which was in the process of being plugged and abandoned. Cason was on the well guide cutting gussets with a welding torch, carrying out his duties as a maintenance welder employed by Diamond M, when the well guide fell into the Gulf. Union Oil owned the well guide and gussets, as well as the drive shaft to which the gussets were attached.
Union Oil filed a third party demand against Diamond M, seeking indemnification under a contract allegedly providing for indemnity, if Union Oil was found liable.
Suit was originally filed in Cameron Parish. The case was transferred to St. Mary Parish before trial after the filing of an exception of improper venue by Diamond M. Thereafter, Diamond M again filed an exception of improper venue, 1 and Union Oil filed an exception of lack of jurisdiction over the subject matter, as the rig upon which the accident had occurred had been located near Texas territorial waters off High Island, Texas. Also, exceptions of prescription or laches were filed by both defendants. All exceptions were overruled and the case proceeded to trial on the merits, which took place before a jury on all issues, except indemnity. The sole basis for possible liability of Diamond M was under the Jones Act (as Cason's employer) and the sole basis for possible liability of Union Oil was under the general maritime law of negligence.
The jury returned a verdict finding Cason 10% negligent, and "using 100% as the total amount of negligence by the defendants" found Diamond M 60% negligent and Union Oil 40% negligent. Total damages to plaintiff were assessed by the jury in the amount of $493,000.00. Union Oil and Diamond M filed motions for a new trial or remittitur. Only Union Oil was granted a new trial, which was limited to the question of the liability of Union Oil. A new trial was held before a separate jury on this issue, which found Union Oil not negligent under the general maritime law, and hence not liable. The trial court, based upon the jury's finding of 10% comparative negligence on the part of Cason, rendered judgment in favor of Cason and against Diamond M in the sum of $443,700.00. From the judgment Diamond M and Cason appealed. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
Cason, who was previously employed as a bench welder and as a logger, had only a high school education. At the time of the accident, he was in his early thirties, and was employed as a maintenance welder.
The rig on which Cason was employed was owned by Diamond M, which as an independent contractor had undertaken to drill the well in question for Union Oil by modification of a prior agreement to drill a well in a different location (at Main Pass) for Mobil Oil. A Union Oil representative was on the rig, Dennis Romero, who was a graduate petroleum engineer, and who had general supervision over the tool pusher, Ken Smith. Romero testified at both the original trial and the new trial, but Smith could not be located to testify.
Diamond M had drilled a well for Union Oil from the rig in question, which operated from a movable drilling barge with jackup legs. The well was being plugged and abandoned. On the date of the accident on or about December 31, 1977, the well guide, which was used to guide the drive shaft, had been lifted from the ocean floor. The well guide was a 5 or 6 ton steel girder box which was held up, once lifted from the water, by gussets attached to the drive shaft both at the top and bottom of the box-like well guide. It was necessary to cut the gussets to salvage the well guide, which, as we have said, belonged to Union Oil. Cason, the maintenance welder, and a worker named Stelly, were assigned the task of cutting the gussets.
Smith explained the procedure to Romero. Romero had no experience in retrieving well guides, although he had had several years practical experience in working on drilling rigs. After hearing Smith's explanation, Romero agreed to the procedure. The bottom gussets were to be cut first. The well guide was to have a secondary support from two air hoists, the lines of which ran near the edge of the Texas Deck, which lay immediately below the drilling deck.
When Cason was assigned the task of cutting the gussets, he expressed apprehension to both Smith and Romero, but Smith assured him the procedure was safe. Cason was lowered to the well guide.
The air hoist lines if left taut would brush the sides of the Texas Deck. For this reason the lines were left slack until pads could be placed at the ends of the Texas Deck to cover the sharp edges of the deck. Although Romero was on the Texas Deck for about ten minutes, he failed to observe that the lines were not taut.
Cason started to cut the bottom gussets, and while he was in the act of cutting the last bottom gusset, the gussets on the top or the supports leading from the top gussets to the well guide gave way, and the entire weight of the well guide fell on the air hoist lines, which also gave way because they were slack. The well guide plummeted to the Gulf, which was about 30 or 40 feet below, carrying Cason and Stelly.
Cason blacked out momentarily while he was falling, but after going beneath the surface of the Gulf, to a considerable depth, rose to the surface. Both Cason and Stelly were saved.
Cason suffered a compression fracture of the first and second lumbar vertebrae. He also suffered a burst ear drum. He was taken to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston, and then placed under the care of Dr. Don H. Burt, an orthopedic surgeon in Shreveport. Following Dr. Burt's advice, Cason attempted to return to work, but had to stop working after a short time because of intense pain, which was caused by assuming awkward positions while welding. Cason thereupon started logging with his father, at a considerable reduction in wages. He appears to have been engaged in logging up to the time of the trial.
The appeals raise practically the entire range of issues considered by the trial court, including the exceptions.
The present action seeking recovery under the Jones Act and general maritime law is brought under the "saving to suitors" clause of 28 U.S.C. § 1333, which saves to suitors, bringing an in personam claim seeking relief under the laws of admiralty, a remedy in a "common law" (i.e., non-admiralty) court. In an action brought in state court under the "saving to suitors" clause, federal substantive law applies, but where the result is not substantially affected, the procedural law of the forum applies. Lavergne v. Western Co. of North America, Inc., 371 So.2d 807 (La.1979), Gilmore and Black on Admiralty, §§ 1-13 (2d ed. 1975). As the forum is the District Court of Louisiana, this State's procedural law applies in all aspects of the present case where the result is not substantially affected.
Jurisdiction and venue are quite obviously matters that are governed by Louisiana law in the present case. Diamond M is a foreign corporation authorized to do business in Louisiana, having an agent for service of process in this state. Therefore, LSA-C.C.P. art. 42(4) applies in determining whether or not venue lies in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana:
It appears to be agreed by all parties that the principal place of business of Diamond M in this state is in St. Mary Parish. Therefore, venue lies in St. Mary Parish.
As to Union Oil's exception of lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the trial court obtained jurisdiction over the person of both Diamond M and Union Oil. A Louisiana court which has jurisdiction over the person and which has before it a "saving to suitors" action brought in personam under the Jones Act and general maritime law clearly has jurisdiction over the subject matter. See LSA-C.C.P. art. 2. Thus, there is no merit to Union Oil's exception of lack of subject matter.
As to the pleas of prescription and laches, these are substantive matters, to which federal law applies. The statute of limitations under the Jones Act is 3 years. Laches applies to a general maritime claim. The accident occurred on or about December 31, 1977. Cason filed suit in state court against Diamond M on May 30, 1979. A suit had earlier been filed in Federal court against both Diamond M and Union Oil, which was dismissed without prejudice on May 16, 1979. Plaintiff filed a pleading styled "Second Supplemental and Amending Petition" in state court naming Union Oil as an additional party defendant on November 29, 1979.
Clearly, the 3 year statute of limitations under the Jones Act had not expired. Especially in view of the fact that an earlier suit had been filed in Federal court against both Diamond M and Union, we find that the equitable doctrine of laches is inapplicable to the maritime claim.
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