Donaghey v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co.

• Decision Date: 13 October 1992
• Docket Number: No. 91-3617,91-3617
• Citation: 974 F.2d 646,1994 A.M.C. 512
• Parties: , Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,324 Lonnie DONAGHEY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OCEAN DRILLING & EXPLORATION COMPANY, et al., Defendants. CONOCO, INC., Old Odeco, Inc., and Odeco Drilling Service, Inc., Third-Party-Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. VARCO INTERNATIONAL, INC., Third-Party-Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 646

974 F.2d 646

1994 A.M.C. 512, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 13,324

Lonnie DONAGHEY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. OCEAN DRILLING & EXPLORATION COMPANY, et al., Defendants.

CONOCO, INC., Old Odeco, Inc., and Odeco Drilling Service, Inc., Third-Party-Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. VARCO INTERNATIONAL, INC., Third-Party-Defendant-Appellee.

No. 91-3617.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Oct. 13, 1992.

James H. Brown, Jr., James H. Daigle, Lemle & Kelleher, New Orleans, La., for appellants.

Douglas Conrad Longman, Jr., Perret, Doise, Daigle, Longman, Russo & Zaunbrecher, Lafayette, La., for appellee.

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

Before SMITH and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges, and RAINEY ^*, District Judge.

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge:

After Lonnie Donaghey was injured while working aboard the D/B OCEAN TITAN, Donaghey and his wife brought suit against Old Odeco, Inc., the owner of the OCEAN TITAN, Odeco Drilling Services, Inc., Donaghey's employer (collectively ODECO), and Conoco, Inc. (Conoco), the party for whom ODECO was working at the time of the accident, asserting that ODECO's and Conoco's negligence caused Donaghey's injuries. Subsequently, ODECO and Conoco, alleging that Varco's negligence caused Donaghey's injuries, filed third party complaints against Varco International, Inc., Varco BJ Oil Tools, and Varco BJ Drilling Systems, the manufacturer and seller of the Varco top drive system (collectively Varco). The Donagheys then amended their complaint to name Varco as a defendant. Varco moved for summary judgment, contending that its actions were not a legal cause of Donaghey's accident and that the gross negligence of ODECO was the cause of the accident. The district court granted Varco's motion for summary judgment. ODECO and Conoco appeal. Finding that the district court improperly granted summary judgment, we reverse and remand.

I

Donaghey worked as a driller for ODECO aboard the OCEAN TITAN, an offshore drilling vessel, which was on location for Conoco in the Gulf of Mexico. During drilling operations, George Pittman, the ODECO Senior Toolpusher, determined that a safety valve on the Varco-manufactured top drive needed to be changed. In order to change the valve, the ODECO crew attempted to break the upper main shaft connection, also manufactured by Varco. The crew discovered that the connection was frozen, and tried initially to break the connection with a set of DB tongs which had a rated capacity of 65,000 pounds. Because these attempts were unsuccessful, the crew removed the DB tongs and then procured ODECO's SDD tongs--which are larger than the DB tongs and have a working capacity of up to 100,000 pounds. The SDD tongs, however, did not have the correct size jaws and did not fit around the frozen connection. The crew removed the SDD tongs, and Pittman ordered the DB tongs back on the connection. The DB tongs were pulled in excess of their rated capacity and failed during one of the attempts to break the frozen connection. Donaghey was struck and injured by a piece of the tongs.

Donaghey and his wife brought suit against ODECO, Conoco, and Varco, and ODECO and Conoco filed claims against Varco. Subsequently, Varco moved for summary judgment, arguing that it was not negligent, but that, in any event, any alleged negligence was not a legal cause of Donaghey's accident, and therefore, it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The Donagheys opposed Varco's motion for summary judgment on the grounds that there was a fact question whether the Varco-manufactured top drive caused Donaghey's accident. Responding to Varco's summary judgment motion, ODECO and Conoco argued that the connection had become frozen due to Varco's negligence and, even assuming that ODECO and/or Conoco were negligent and the tongs broke because they were used in excess of their rated capacity, it was foreseeable that attempts would be made to free the connection.

The district court found no factual issues with respect to Varco's liability and granted Varco's motion for summary judgment. ¹ ODECO and Conoco settled with the Donagheys and, thereafter, ODECO and Conoco moved the district court to reconsider its order granting Varco's motion for summary judgment. Citing Nunley v. M/V DAUNTLESS COLOCOTRONIS, 727 F.2d 455 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 832, 105 S.Ct. 120, 83 L.Ed.2d 63 (1984), ODECO and Conoco argued that the doctrine of superseding negligence does not apply under the general maritime law and, therefore, the district court erred in holding that ODECO's negligence was a superseding cause of the accident. The district court denied ODECO's and Conoco's motion to reconsider, with the explanation:

Upon review, the Court may have spoken unartfully in stating that 'Odeco's negligence was the superseding cause of the accident.' What is clear is that the Court intended to find, and does find, that there were no factual issues in dispute and that the negligence of Odeco in deliberately choosing to exceed the rated capacity of the tongs in attempting to unstick the frozen connection is the legal cause of the accident and that any negligence of Varco was not the legal cause of plaintiff's injury.

Record on Appeal, vol. 3, at 672.

ODECO and Conoco appeal, contending that a fact question exists whether Varco's negligence is a legal cause of Donaghey's injuries, and they also contend that the doctrine of comparative fault should be applied to determine the effects of Varco's negligence. Varco contends that the district court correctly found no genuine issue as to any material fact, and also seeks sanctions, alleging that ODECO and Conoco have brought a frivolous appeal.

II

A

In an appeal from a grant of summary judgment we review the record de novo. See International Shortstop, Inc. v. Rally's, 939 F.2d 1257, 1263 (5th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 936, 117 L.Ed.2d 107 (1992). Summary judgment is proper if the movant demonstrates the absence of genuine issues of material fact. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Such a showing entitles the movant to summary judgment as a matter of law. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The movant accomplishes this by informing the court of the basis for its motion, and by identifying portions of the record which highlight the absence of genuine factual issues. See generally id. If the movant is successful, the nonmovant must then direct the court's attention to evidence in the record sufficient to establish that there is a genuine issue for trial. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The nonmovant cannot satisfy this burden merely by denying the allegations in the opponent's pleadings but can do so by tendering depositions, affidavits, and other competent evidence to buttress its claim. See Rally's, 939 F.2d at 1263; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). Summary judgment is appropriate if the nonmovant fails to set forth specific facts to show that there is a genuine issue for trial. See Topalian v. Ehrmann, 954 F.2d 1125, 1132, (5th Cir.1992) citing Marsh v. Austin-Fort Worth Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 744 F.2d 1077, 1079 (5th Cir.1984).

B

ODECO and Conoco contend that the district court erred in ruling that, as a matter of law, Varco's negligence was not a legal cause of the accident which resulted in Donaghey's injuries, and they also contend that, because the doctrine of superseding negligence does not apply in maritime cases, the doctrine of comparative negligence should be applied.

Under the general maritime law, a party's negligence is actionable only if it is a 'legal cause' of the plaintiff's injuries. See Chavez v. Noble Drilling Corp., 567 F.2d 287, 289 (5th Cir.1978). "[L]egal cause is something more than 'but for' causation, and the negligence must be a 'substantial factor' in the injury." Thomas v. Express Boat Co., 759 F.2d 444, 448 (5th Cir.1985) (citations omitted). The term "substantial factor" means more than "but for the negligence, the harm would not have resulted." Spinks v. Chevron Oil Co., 507 F.2d 216, 223 (5th Cir.1975); see also Chisholm v. Sabine Towing & Transp. Co., 679 F.2d 60, 63 (5th Cir.1982).

In its motion for summary judgment, Varco argued that, even if it was negligent, this alleged negligence was not a legal cause of the accident. Instead, according to Varco, the legal cause of the accident was the gross negligence of the ODECO Senior Toolpusher--that is, according to Varco, the accident occurred because the ODECO Senior Toolpusher chose to exceed the rated capacity of the tongs. To support its argument, Varco proffered the deposition testimony of Pittman. ²

The Donagheys, in opposing Varco's summary judgment motion, argued that there was a fact question whether the allegedly defective Varco-manufactured top drive caused Donaghey's accident. ³ ODECO and Conoco also opposed Varco's summary judgment motion on the grounds that the connection became frozen due to the negligence of Varco. ⁴ ODECO and Conoco then continued,

[o]nce the connection became frozen, it was certainly foreseeable that attempts would be made to free the connection. Assuming for the sake of argument that Odeco and/or Conoco were negligent (which is denied) and the tongs which broke because they were used in excess of their rated capacity, that eventuality was certainly a foreseeable result once the connection became frozen and those on board the rig were faced with having to break it."

Record on Appeal, vol. 3, at 4. ⁵

We find that Varco, the movant, failed to establish (1) the absence of factual issues regarding the question whether its actions constitute a legal cause of Donaghey's injuries or (2) as a matter of law that the negligence of ODECO and Conoco constitutes a superseding cause of Donaghey's injuries.

(1)

Contrary to ODECO's and Conoco's assertions, Varco never...