In re Am. River Transp., Co.
| Decision Date | 02 July 2019 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO: 18-2186 SECTION: "S" (2) |
| Parties | IN THE MATTER OF AMERICAN RIVER TRANSPORTATION, CO., LLC, AS THE OWNER AND OPERATOR OF THE M/V LOUISIANA LADY, PRAYING FOR EXONERATION FROM OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Louisiana |
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Rule 12 motions filed by third-party defendant Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. ("Kidde") (Rec. Doc. 53) are granted in part and denied in part as follows:
IT IS ORDERED that Kidde's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiffs' LPLA claims is granted;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kidde's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiffs' products liability claims under the general maritime law for failure to state a claim is denied;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kidde's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss plaintiffs' maintenance and cure claims against Kidde for failure to state a claim is granted as unopposed;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kidde's Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss the Graveses' claims for loss of financial support is denied, however counsel for the Graveses is ordered to amend the complaint to allege dependency more specifically within 15 days of entry of this order;
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kidde's Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss the Graveses' wrongful death claims brought in their personal capacities is granted; and
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Kidde's motion to strike pursuant to Rule 12(f) is denied.
On September 3, 2017, the M/V LOUISIANA LADY, an inland tug owned and operated by American River Transportation Company ("ARTCO"), caught fire when it was doing fleet work on the Mississippi River. The fire broke out in the deck locker on the vessel's main deck. Two crew members, Spencer Graves and Ronald D. Neal, who were in their crew quarters on the main deck, suffered smoke inhalation and loss of consciousness. Graves, who was a Jones Act seaman aboard the vessel, died as a result of the accident. Neal, who was also a Jones Act seaman aboard the vessel, sustained injuries as a result of the accident.
On March 1, 2018, ARTCO filed the instant petition for limitation of liability pursuant to 46 U.S.C. § 30501, et seq. and within the meaning of Rules 9(h) and F of the Supplemental Rules of Admiralty or Maritime Claims and Asset Forfeiture Actions seeking exoneration from or limitation of liability for the September 3, 2017, accident. Philip and Rebecca Whaley Graves, Spencer Graves' parents, filed a claim in their individual capacities and as representatives of Spencer Graves' estate. Neal also filed a claim.
On September 3, 2018, the claimants filed third-party claims against, inter alia, Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc. ("Kidde").1 The claims against Kidde were brought pursuant to the Louisiana Products Liability Act, La. R.S. 9:2800.51 et seq., and the general maritime law. In their third-party complaint, third-party plaintiffs (hereinafter, "plaintiffs") allege that anelectronic cigarette with a lithium battery exploded on a shelf in the deck locker, ignited, caught fire, and was propelled around the room, and that subsequently, the smoke and gas detectors and alarms, allegedly manufactured by Kidde, all failed to work properly, resulting in Graves' death Ronald Neal's injuries.
In this motion, Kidde seeks dismissal of the LPLA claims brought against it by claimants, and the striking of certain allegations as redundant or immaterial. With respect to the dismissal of the LPLA claims, Kidde premises its motion on two grounds:
(1) Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Kidde argues that claims under the Louisiana Products Liability Act are inapplicable to this general maritime products liability case, and plaintiffs have failed to properly allege any defect existed at the time Kidde's product left Kidde's control, as is required under general maritime law and Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Further, to the extent any claims have been properly made, Kidde contends that relief cannot be granted because plaintiffs have admitted actual knowledge of the purportedly unreasonably dangerous condition. To the extent any other claims remain, for non-pecuniary (punitive) damages, maintenance and cure, found, and loss of financial support, Kidde argues they are not available and must necessarily be dismissed.
(2) Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1), Kidde seeks dismissal of all claims brought individually by Phillip Graves and Rebecca Whaley Graves, arguing that they lack standing to bring any action in their individual capacities, and therefore the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction.
Additionally, Kidde argues pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f), thatparagraphs 88 and 106(h) of Claimants' Master Complaint, Counter-Claims, and Third-Party Complaint for Damages (Rec. Doc. 31), should be stricken, because they invoke res ipsa loquitur, which is an evidentiary doctrine, rather than a separate cause of action, and claims for past and future meals, lodging and found, contending they are redundant.
Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a motion to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. "To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, 'enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face' must be pleaded." In re Katrina Canal Breaches Litig., 495 F.3d 191, 205 (5th Cir. 2007) (quoting Bell Atl. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007). A claim is plausible on its face when the plaintiff pleads facts from which the court can "draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). "Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)." Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (citations omitted). The court "must accept all well-pleaded facts as true and view them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party." In re S. Scrap Material Co., LLC, 541 F.3d 584, 587 (5th Cir. 2008). However, the court need not accept legal conclusions couched as factual allegations as true. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678.
Kidde contends that the claims against it are governed by the general maritime law, which preempts Louisiana state law ( the Louisiana Products Liability Act ("LPLA")), and thus plaintiffs' claims brought under the LPLA must be dismissed. Plaintiffs contend that the LPLA may be applied in cases in which it does not conflict with the LPLA, and that Kidde has not identified a conflict between the two that prevents application of the LPLA.
It is undisputed that this matter lies within the court's admiralty jurisdiction. East River S.S. Corp. v. Transamerica Delaval, Inc. 476 U.S. 858, 864 (1986) (citations omitted). "Drawn from state and federal sources, the general maritime law is an amalgam of traditional common-law rules, modifications of those rules, and newly created rules." Id. (citations omitted).
In East River, the Supreme Court acknowledged that it had developed a body of maritime tort principles, and questioned whether it should "incorporate products-liability concepts, long a part of the common law of torts, into the general maritime law." Id. at 865. The Supreme Court recognized that "the Courts of Appeals sitting in admiralty overwhelmingly have adopted concepts of products liability, based both on negligence and on strict liability. Id. (citations omitted). The Supreme Court unequivocally "join[ed] the Courts of Appeals in recognizing products liability, including strict liability, as part of the general maritime law." Id. The Fifth Circuit and the majority of circuit courts have imported and applied the Restatement (Second) of Torts § 402A as the applicable general maritime law in maritime products liability actions. Transco Syndicate No. 1, Ltd. v. Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., 1 F. Supp. 2d 608, 614 (E.D. La.1998) (citing Vickers v. Chiles Drilling Co., 822 F.2d 535, 538 (5th Cir.1987); Ocean Barge Transport Co. v. Hess Oil Virgin Islands Corp., 726 F.2d 121, 123 (3d Cir.1984); Pan-Alaska Fisheries, Inc. v. Marine Constr. & Design Co., 565 F.2d 1129, 1134 (9th Cir.1977) (); Lindsay v. McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Corp., 460 F.2d 631 (8th Cir.1972); McKee v. Brunswick Corp. 354 F.2d 577, 584 (7th Cir.1965)(same); 1 Thomas J. Schoenbaum, ADMIRALTY AND MARITIME LAW § 5-7 (5th ed. 2012) ().
And, while there is some authority that the LPLA may be applied to maritime actions when its provisions do not conflict with Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts, see Transco, 1 F. Supp. 2d at 614, a recent case from this district analyzed the question, and determined that there is no basis to supplement the general maritime law of products liability with the LPLA. Parekh v. Argonautica Shipping Investments B.V., 2017 WL 3456300, at *2-3 (E.D. La. Aug. 11, 2017). In Parekh, the court noted that the Supreme Court has approved the application of state law where it serves to supplement, but not contravene, the general maritime law by filling a gap in the general maritime law. Id. at *2 (citing Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. v. Calhoun, 516 U.S. 199, 206 (1996)). The court observed that the general maritime law may be supplemented with state law when three conditions are present: "'(1) where there is no applicable admiralty rule; (2) where local...
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