Hodgen v. Forest Oil Corp.
| Decision Date | 26 April 1994 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 93-0322. |
| Parties | Jerry B. HODGEN and Bobbie Sue Hodgen v. FOREST OIL CORPORATION, Ronald J. Doucet, A & A Boats, Inc. and C & G Marine Service, Inc. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana |
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Jerry G. Jones, Jones & Alexander, Cameron, LA, for plaintiff and intervenor-defendant Jerry B. Hodgen.
Donald Coleman Brown, Todd M. Ammons, Woodley, Williams, Fenet, Palmer, Boudreau & Norman, Lake Charles, LA, for defendants, cross-claimants, third party plaintiffs and intervenor-defendants, Forest Oil Corp., in its capacity as platform owner, and Ronald J. Doucet.
D. Kirk Boswell, Stephen E. Mattesky, Terriberry, Carroll & Yancey, New Orleans, LA, for third-party defendant, Commercial Union Ins. Co. and defendants, cross-defendants, intervenor-defendants and third-party plaintiffs, A & A Boats, Inc. and C & G Marine Service, Inc.
James R. Sutterfield, Bonnie M. Steiner, Nathan L. Schrantz, Hoffman, Sutterfield, Esenat & Bankston, New Orleans, LA, for third-party defendants, Chancellor Ins. Co., Ltd., Yorkshire Ins. Co., Ltd., Cornhill Ins. PLC, Allianz Intern. Ins. Co., Ltd., and Ocean Marine Ins. Co., Ltd.
Edward F. LeBreton, III, Cindy T. Matherne, Rice, Fowler, Kingsmill, Vance, Flint & Booth, New Orleans, LA, for third-party defendant and third-party plaintiff, Albany Ins. Co.
Kevin J. Koenig, Raggio, Cappel, Chozen & Berniard, Lake Charles, LA, for intervenor Aetna Cas. and Sur. Co.
Carl James Hebert, Michael W. Mallory, Evans & Co., New Orleans, LA, for defendant, intervenor-defendant, cross-claimant and third-party plaintiff, Forest Oil Corp. in its capacity as time-charterer.
James A. Cobb, Jr., John F. Emmett, Emmett, Cobb, Waits & Kessenich, New Orleans, LA, for cross-defendants, intervenor-defendants, and third-party plaintiffs, A & A Boats, Inc. and C & G Marine Service, Inc. Paul B. David, Richard J. Guidry, Broussard, David & Daigle, Layfayette, LA, for cross-defendant and third-party defendant Operators and Consulting Services, Inc.
Muriel O. Van Horn, Lenfant & Associates, New Orleans, LA, for third-party defendant, Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co.
MEMORANDUM RULING
This matter arises out of injuries allegedly sustained by plaintiff, Jerry B. Hodgen, on May 5, 1991 in the Gulf of Mexico. He was employed by third-party defendant, Operators and Consulting Services, Inc. ("OCS"), and worked on several fixed platforms owned by defendant, Forest Oil Corporation ("Forest") on the Outer Continental Shelf. Forest time-chartered a vessel from defendants, A & A Boats, Inc. and C & G Marine Service, Inc. ("A & A/C & G"). After a five-day bench trial, the Court took the matter under advisement. We now assign the following reasons for judgment.
Plaintiff was employed as a platform operator for OCS on the date of his accident. His duties entailed taking readings from gas charts and meters as well as doing general maintenance on the fixed platforms in the Vermilion Block 255 field. The living quarters for all personnel were on the Vermilion 255-B platform; however, as part of his duties, plaintiff was required to obtain readings on several unmanned platforms in the field, including Vermilion 255-A. He was transported to and from each satellite platform by vessel, or by helicopter if the weather conditions were too rough to make a vessel transfer.
On the morning of the accident, plaintiff and a fellow employee, Randy Ardoin, were lowered by personnel basket from the 255-B platform onto the M/V "Ms. Deborah", owned by A & A/C & G and time-chartered by Forest. They were ferried to the 255-A platform, swung onto the platform by means of a swing-rope transfer and took their readings. Plaintiff was allegedly injured while swinging onto the vessel from the 255-A platform when the vessel came up faster than he anticipated, knocking him down violently on all fours on the aft-deck of the vessel.
Plaintiff brought suit against Forest in both its capacity as platform owner and time-charterer of the vessel, as well as against the vessel owner, A & A/C & G.1
As a platform worker on the Outer Continental Shelf, plaintiff is entitled to recover damages under the Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act ("LHWCA"), 33 U.S.C. 901 et seq., for any injuries he may have suffered due to the negligence of the vessel. Therefore, plaintiff's claim against A & A/C & G as well as his claims for the negligence of Forest, in its capacity as time charterer of the vessel, are governed by 33 U.S.C. 905(b). Randall v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., 13 F.3d 888, 900 (5th Cir.1994).
Plaintiff's claim against Forest in its capacity as platform owner is governed by the law of the adjacent state, which is in this case Louisiana. Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. 395 U.S. 352, 89 S.Ct. 1835, 23 L.Ed.2d 360 (1969).
Plaintiff contends that he was injured due to the negligence of Ronald Doucet, the Forest supervisor in charge of the Vermilion 255 field, in sending him onto the vessel in rough seas. He also alleges that A & A/C & G was negligent because it had no objective safety procedure to determine if the seas were too rough for making passenger transfers, and for allowing the transfer to be made in rough seas. Finally, OCS alleged that Forest was negligent in its capacity as platform owner for failing to put instruments on the platform which would have allowed the personnel on the platform to make an objective determination of the height of the seas and the wind velocity.
Defendants allege that plaintiff was himself contributorily negligent in causing this accident. However, we find that no credible evidence was presented on this point at trial, and it will not be addressed any further.
Under the Time Charter, Forest's personnel decided where and when the vessel was to be used, and who used it. The crew of the vessel were only responsible for the navigation and operation of the vessel.
A time charterer may breach its duty of care if it orders the vessel out in rough seas creating unsafe and dangerous conditions. See Randall v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., supra, at 898-900, marshalling the authorities on this point.
At the outset, there is a substantial dispute as to what the condition of the sea was at the time of plaintiff's accident. Plaintiff testified that the seas were 8 to 12 feet and his fellow employee Ardoin testified that they were 8 to 10 feet. On the other hand, Ronald Doucet testified that the seas were 5 to 6 feet and Captain Flanders put the figure at 3 to 5 feet. Finally, Rob Perillo, defendant's expert in meteorology, opined that the seas were 3 to 5 feet based on the weather reports in the Gulf of Mexico for that day.
The Court finds the testimony of plaintiff and Randy Ardoin to be the more credible, and that the seas were at least 7 to 9 feet at the time of the accident. Both plaintiff and Ardoin testified that they had to swing from the platform's walkway instead of the boat landing because waves were washing over the landing. Defendants concede that the boat landing is at least 6 ft. above mean sea level, and the walkway is 10 ft. above mean sea level. In addition, both plaintiff and Doucet testified that plaintiff had to change his clothes when he arrived back at the 255-B platform because his clothes were wet. This is probative evidence of the fact that the seas were quite rough when plaintiff made the transfer.2
We find that Doucet was negligent in sending plaintiff onto a vessel in these rough conditions, especially when a helicopter could just as easily have been used and there were no compelling circumstances present.3
Plaintiff and Ardoin testified that before boarding the vessel, they were concerned that the seas were too rough and asked Doucet for the helicopter. Doucet told them it was unavailable, and told them to "give the vessel a try" because he had to report the meter readings to the home office. However, Doucet admitted under cross-examination that there was no emergency on the outlying platforms such that the readings could not have been taken later when the helicopter was available. In addition, both plaintiff and Ardoin testified that they did not protest having to use the vessel for their work for fear of losing their jobs. Accordingly, the court finds that the actions of Doucet constituted negligence of Forest Oil as charterer of the vessel, and that such negligence was a proximate cause of the accident and plaintiff's injuries as well, as discussed hereafter.
Although this argument was not made by plaintiff, OCS contends that Forest was also at fault for failing to put instruments on the platform that would have allowed the personnel to make an objective determination as to the height of the seas and the wind velocity. Assuming arguendo that this constituted negligence, we find that it was not a causative factor in bringing about plaintiff's injuries. The boat landing was also a mechanism by which the personnel could make an objective determination as to the height of the seas, yet Doucet still directed that they go to the 255-A platform by vessel. Accordingly, OCS's argument is without merit.
The vessel owner remains responsible for the seaworthiness of the vessel, dangerous conditions on board, navigational errors by the pilot, and negligence by the crew, and a reasonably safe means of ingress and egress for those boarding or leaving the vessel. Moore v. Philips Petroleum Co., 912 F.2d 789, 1991 A.M.C. 2855 (5th Cir.1990).
Plaintiff alleges that A & A/C & G breached its duty with respect to the safe ingress and egress to the vessel because it had no objective safety procedure by which to determine if the seas were too rough to allow the swing rope transfer, and by allowing the transfer to be made in rough seas. Captain Flanders...
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Hodgen v. Forest Oil Corp.
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