Halliburton v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co., 78-3227
| Decision Date | 03 July 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 78-3227,78-3227 |
| Citation | 620 F.2d 444 |
| Parties | Charles E. HALLIBURTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OCEAN DRILLING & EXPLORATION COMPANY et al., Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Kenneth M. Henke, Lafayette, La., for plaintiff-appellant.
Lemle, Kelleher, Kohlmeyer & Matthews, James H. Daigle, New Orleans, La., for Ocean Drilling.
Sessions, Fishman, Rosenson, Etc., Walter C. Thompson, Jr., Harry Shoemaker, New Orleans, La., for Kilroy Co. of Texas.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Before AINSWORTH and CHARLES CLARK, Circuit Judges, and HUNTER, * District Judge.
In this seaman's personal injury case, the District Court held that there existed no genuine issue of material fact with respect to the validity of the release executed by the plaintiff and granted summary judgment to the defendants. We reverse.
Releases signed by seamen, the "wards of admiralty," are given the most careful scrutiny. The burden is on the shipowner to show that the seaman signed the release with a full understanding of his rights and the effect of his action. See Garrett v. Moore-McCormack Co., 1942, 317 U.S. 239, 63 S.Ct. 246, 87 L.Ed. 239; Aguiluz-Nunez v. Carnival Cruise Lines, Inc., 584 F.2d 76 (5th Cir. 1978). On a motion for summary judgment based on a seaman's release, the shipowner has an even heavier burden to shoulder, for he must conclusively demonstrate the absence of genuine issues of material fact. F.R.Civ.P. 56(c).
The record reveals that Halliburton had been on a course of therapy which required Phenaphen, Valium and Dalmane. The affidavit of Dr. Morgan, a noted pharmacologist and acting Chairman of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, was filed in opposition to the motion. Addressing himself to the above noted drugs, Dr. Morgan stated:
"These drugs, when ingested concomitantly, have a potentiating, or greatly increased effect upon the patients' mental faculties, which the drugs, if ingested alone, would not have;"
And, referring to the two drugs taken by plaintiff-appellant that morning :
"A patient who has been on a course of therapy consisting of these drugs and who, on a particular day has ingested four capsules of Phenaphen No. 3 and two 5 milligram tablets of Valium would more than likely have impaired or diminished mental capacity to fully understand and appreciate any actions requiring the patient to be fully alert and attentive to details, or which require the patient to engage in any complicated thought processes wherein he...
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