Hebert v. California Oil Company

• Decision Date: 27 September 1967
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 9919.
• Citation: 280 F. Supp. 754
• Parties: Paul HEBERT v. CALIFORNIA OIL COMPANY, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. NOBLE DRILLING CORPORATION, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, Universal Services, Inc., and the Travelers Insurance Company, Third-Party Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana

280 F. Supp. 754

Paul HEBERT v. CALIFORNIA OIL COMPANY, Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff, v. NOBLE DRILLING CORPORATION, Aetna Casualty & Surety Company, Universal Services, Inc., and the Travelers Insurance Company, Third-Party Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 9919.

United States District Court W. D. Louisiana, Lafayette Division.

September 27, 1967.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Joseph A. Koury, Lafayette, La., for plaintiff.

Lloyd Cyril Melancon, McLoughlin, Barranger, West & Provosty, New Orleans, La., for California Oil Co.

Adams & Reese, George Baus, New Orleans, La., for Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. and Noble Drilling Corp.

Davidson, Meaux, Onebane & Donohoe, John Allen Bernard, Lafayette, La., for Travelers Insurance Co. and Universal Services, Inc.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

PUTNAM, District Judge.

This case arises out of a suit filed against California Oil Company by Paul Hebert, seeking recovery for personal injuries allegedly suffered by him when he slipped and fell because of a foreign substance on the deck of the S-55, a submersible drilling barge owned by California and in service off the coast of Louisiana on the outer continental shelf. Plaintiff alleged that he was an employee of Universal Services, Inc., but that at the time of the accident he was performing services in the status of an employee of California. His first cause of action was laid under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.A. § 688, the second was for maintenance and cure, and the third for negligent failure to furnish a reasonably safe place in which to work and for unseaworthiness of the vessel upon which he was employed, under general maritime principles.

California filed third party complaints against Noble Drilling Company and its insurer, Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, and against Universal Services, Inc. and its insurer, Travelers Insurance Company, based upon the insuring and indemnity provisions of contracts entered into for the conduct of the operation in question. Noble and Aetna filed a cross-complaint against Universal and Travelers under the insuring and indemnity provisions of Noble's contract with Universal. To complete the circle, Travelers has filed a third party complaint against Firemen's Fund Insurance Company, California's insurance carrier, and a cross-claim against Aetna, for pro rata distribution of the loss under the co-insurance clause of its policy.

California settled Hebert's claim upon payment of $8,000.00 to him for his injuries, a sum agreed to be reasonable by all parties and commensurate with damages resulting from the hernia he sustained as a result of the fall.

All claims were submitted to the Court for determination on the basis of the evidence in the record on November 9, 1965, and on written briefs. Supplemental briefs have been filed with the Court from time to time, the last having been received May 11, 1967.

We resolve the facts as follows:

1. California is engaged in the business of discovering and producing oil, gas and other minerals in the coastal waters of Louisiana and elsewhere, in the course of which it owns and operates the S-55. On February 8, 1963, by letter agreement with Noble, the latter agreed to drill and complete a well in the South Timbalier Area of the Gulf of Mexico. The parties adopted the terms of a previous contract dated January 28, 1962 to govern their relationship in this undertaking.

2. Under this agreement Noble, a drilling contractor, was to furnish certain items of material and equipment, listed on Exhibit "A", and was to arrange for and secure other items, listed on Exhibit "B", necessary for the operation of the barge for the account of California. these last items included:

"Food, food supplies and other materials and supplies reasonably necessary for the adequate quartering of employees of Contractor, Operator and third parties.

"Labor: Actual cost of labor to operate and maintain galley, dining room, living quarters, and Operator's S-55 drilling barge."

Under Sections 2, 3 and 7(5) of the contract, Noble was to pay for these supplies and labor, and, through periodic accounting, was to be reimbursed the actual cost thereof. California agreed for its part to furnish the submersible drilling barge in question. The contract has none of the indicia of a bareboat charter of the vessel, nor can it be said that there was a joint undertaking to drill the well. This was a California enterprise, pure and simple. Section 5 of the agreement, however, provided that responsibility "to arrange for the day-to-day" operation of the galley and quartering facilities of the S-55 was assumed by Noble. Noble is a drilling contractor, not engaged in the catering business. In arranging for and securing galley hands and provisions to man and supply California's operating barge, for California's account, it was no more than California's hiring agent. When these arrangements were made and labor secured, Noble's contractual obligations were satisfied, and responsibility for the actual operation of the galley passed from it. The actions of the parties in the execution of the contract further sustain this interpretation, as will be seen hereinafter.

3. Noble arranged for day-to-day operation and maintenance of the galley and living quarters by obtaining these services under a contract between it and Universal, dated June 19, 1959. Exhibit "D", attached to that agreement on July 1, 1959, shows that the arrangement for Universal to service the S-55 was of long standing and antedated the California-Noble contract of 1962. While there is no direct testimony or evidence in the record that Universal expressly accepted the terms of the agreement between California-Noble of January 28, 1962 (readopted February 8, 1963), other than the fact that California was added as an additional insured under its insurance policy No. 9322469 with Travelers on July 2, 1962, and coverage extended to the outer continental shelf of the United States on the same date, the only reasonable inference that can be drawn is that Universal tacitly did so, with California's approval, and assumed responsibility to furnish men and supplies to California for the operation of the S-55 galley and living quarters, pursuant to the terms of the California-Noble contract.

4. Hebert's immediate employer was Universal. He reported for duty aboard the S-55 at Universal's direction and received his pay from this corporation, a catering concern. The services he rendered were rendered for California, however, as part of the operational activities necessary for the functioning of the drilling barge and the accomplishment of its mission, an enterprise we find to be within the scope of the owner's business interests. He consented to this arrangement completely, as did California. Although the corporate entities involved termed their relationship to be that of principal and independent contractor, right of control over the operation of the drilling barge as a whole rested upon California. The entire undertaking had to be directed, correlated and run as a unitary enterprise for its ultimate success and for the safety of all persons aboard.

5. In the execution of the contract, California had a barge foreman or captain aboard the S-55, a Mr. Anderson. This man was in charge of the barge, responsible for all maintenance required, loading and unloading of supplies, and direction of the work of the various departments on the barge, including galley and living quarters. He made daily inspections of the entire vessel. Deckhands or "roustabouts" for work outside of the galley and living quarters were furnished by Service Contractors, Inc. and they, like the galley crew, were assigned their daily tasks by Anderson, through their gang foreman or "pusher". A petroleum engineer in the employ of California was in charge of the actual drilling operations, with extensive authority retained by California in respect to various phases of drilling and completion of the well under Section 6 of the agreement. We do not discuss these provisions in detail, as we are concerned in this case primarily with the functions of galley and deck operation and maintenance, and the control and direction thereof.

6. Work was divided, by Anderson, in respect to the loading and unloading of supplies for the galley. California furnished supply vessels for transportation of such supplies to and from the shore. When a supply boat came alongside, some of the roustabouts were assigned to assist in unloading them onto the loading area of the outside deck of the S-55. When unloaded, the galley crew was assigned to pick them up, carry them into the galley area and store them for future use. The chief steward of Universal's crew was the man in charge of the galley and living quarters, with whom Anderson dealt.

7. On the day in question, according to the uncontradicted testimony of Hebert, supplies had come alongside and he was called by Anderson to attend to storage. He stepped through a door leading from the galley area to the unloading area of the deck, some distance away. At that time, he found the deck outside the door to be dry. On his return carrying a box of supplies, he slipped and fell. It was his further testimony that during the interval of time when he left the galley and returned, someone, presumably the roustabouts, had commenced washing down some other area of the barge, probably the pipe rack, and the slippery residue was permitted to flow down and remain upon the deck. This residue consisted of drilling mud and water. It collected between the deck plates at the door. These were double plates, according to the testimony of Mr. Stickney, and are shown in photographs attached to his deposition. Hebert did not see the slippery condition of the deck until after he fell. He recalls that he was wet and dirty and changed clothes after this incident. We accept his uncontradicted version of the accident. A hernia resulted.

8. We find that the sole...