In re Prosper Operators, Inc.

• Decision Date: 23 August 2019
• Docket Number: CASE NO. 2:16-CV-01363
• Parties: IN RE PROSPER OPERATORS, INC.; as operator of the M/V AMBER
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Louisiana

IN RE PROSPER OPERATORS, INC.; as operator of the M/V AMBER

CASE NO. 2:16-CV-01363

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA LAKE CHARLES DIVISION

August 23, 2019

JUDGE JAMES D. CAIN, JR.

MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAY

MEMORANDUM RULING

Before the court is a Motion for Summary Judgment [doc. 45] filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 by Prosper Operators, Inc. ("Prosper"), the plaintiff in this limitation action. Claimant Mitchell Navarre opposes the motion. Doc. 53.

I.BACKGROUND

This suit arises from injuries allegedly suffered by Navarre during his employment with Prosper. Doc. 1, ¶ 6. Navarre worked as an operator in the Sweet Lake oil production field in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Doc. 45, att. 3. As an operator, Navarre was responsible for traveling to the well-control units throughout Sweet Lake in order to read gauges and monitor them for leaks. Doc. 45, att. 4, ¶¶ 7-10. He used Prosper's boat, the motor vessel Amber, to reach the well-control units, which are accessible only by water. Id.

Navarre contends that he was injured aboard the M/V Amber on June 14, 2015.¹ Doc. 7, att. 4. He filed a petition for damages against Prosper in the 38th Judicial DistrictCourt, Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Id. There he alleged that he was a Jones Act seaman under 46 U.S.C. § 30104 and invoked his right to pursue the action in state court under the savings to suitors clause of 28 U.S.C. § 1333. Id. at ¶¶ 2, 9.

As operator of the M/V Amber, Prosper then filed a complaint in this court for exoneration from or limitation of liability in this court. Doc. 1. It seeks to limit its liability to the value of the vessel at $20,000. Id. Navarre responded by raising claims in this suit under the Jones Act and maritime law, alleging that his injuries were caused by the M/V Amber's unseaworthiness and Prosper's negligent acts and omissions. Doc. 10. Accordingly, he asserts that he is entitled to compensatory and punitive damages exceeding the vessel's value as well as maintenance and cure. Id.

Prosper now moves for summary judgment on the Jones Act claim, asserting that Navarre cannot maintain a claim under that statute because he does not qualify as a seaman. Doc. 45. Navarre opposes the motion, arguing that he is a seaman and that Prosper is improperly using this limitation proceeding as an end-run around his right to pursue his Jones Act claim in the pending state court suit. Doc. 53.

II.SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

Under Rule 56(a), "[t]he court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." The moving party is initially responsible for identifying portions of pleadings and discovery that show the lack of a genuine issue of material fact. Tubacex, Inc. v. M/V Risan, 45 F.3d 951, 954 (5th Cir. 1995). He may meet his burden bypointing out "the absence of evidence supporting the nonmoving party's case." Malacara v. Garber, 353 F.3d 393, 404 (5th Cir. 2003). The non-moving party is then required to go beyond the pleadings and show that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). To this end he must submit "significant probative evidence" in support of his claim. State Farm Life Ins. Co. v. Gutterman, 896 F.2d 116, 118 (5th Cir. 1990). "If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249 (citations omitted).

A court may not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence in ruling on a motion for summary judgment. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150 (2000). The court is also required to view all evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all reasonable inferences in that party's favor. Clift v. Clift, 210 F.3d 268, 270 (5th Cir. 2000). Under this standard, a genuine issue of material fact exists if a reasonable trier of fact could render a verdict for the nonmoving party. Brumfield v. Hollins, 551 F.3d 322, 326 (5th Cir. 2008).

III.LAW & APPLICATION

A. Whether Navarre's seaman status may be considered in limitation proceeding

The Jones Act provides a cause of action in negligence for a seaman injured in the course of his employment, lifting a bar on personal injury claims imposed under general maritime law. 46 U.S.C. § 30104; see Chandris, Inc. v. Latsis, 515 U.S. 347, 354 (1995). The savings to suitors clause preserves a plaintiff's right to pursue common law remediesfor admiralty and maritime claims, including those brought under the Jones Act, in his choice of forum. 28 U.S.C. § 1333(1); see, e.g., Gregoire v. Enterprise Marine Svcs., LLC, 38 F.Supp.3d 749, 754-56 (E.D. La. 2014). Under the Limitation of Liability Act ("Limitation Act"), 46 U.S.C. § 30501 et seq., however, a shipowner may file a petition in federal court seeking limitation of his liability for a maritime accident to the value of the vessel and its freight then pending.² "One statute gives suitors the right to a choice of remedies, and the other statute gives vessel owners the right to seek limitation of liability in federal court." Lewis v. Lewis & Clark Marine, Inc., 531 U.S. 438, 448 (2001).

Under these competing interests, the federal court's "primary concern is to protect the shipowner's right to claim the [Limitation] Act's liability cap, and to reserve adjudication of that right in the federal forum." Magnolia Marine Transp. Co. v. Laplace Towing Corp., 964 F.2d 1571, 1575 (5th Cir. 1992). Accordingly, it stays litigation against the vessel owner while determining the owner's right to limitation and is only required to lift the stay when (1) it determines that the total amount of claims does not exceed the declared value of the vessel and its freight or (2) all claimants stipulate that the federal court has exclusive jurisdiction over the limitation proceeding and that they will not seek to enforce a damage award greater than the value of the ship and its freight until the shipowner's right to limitation has been determined by the court.³ Odeco Oil and Gas Co.,Drilling Div. v. Bonnette, 74 F.3d 671, 673 (5th Cir. 1996). If the vessel owner's right to limitation is not adequately protected, the court "may proceed to adjudicate the merits, deciding the issues of liability and limitation." Lewis & Clark Marine, 531 U.S. at 454.

Here no basis has been presented for lifting the stay, and so the court may consider the merits of Navarre's claims in deciding Prosper's right to limitation or exoneration. Accordingly, the motion for summary judgment challenging Navarre's right to relief under the Jones Act is properly before the court. See, e.g., In re Endeavor Marine, Inc., 234 F.3d 287 (5th Cir. 2000); In re Two-J Ranch, Inc., 534 F.Supp.2d 671 (W.D. La. 2008); In re Complaint of O'Meara, Inc., 2002 WL 1433881 (E.D. La. Jun. 28, 2002) (considering motions for summary judgment on claimant's seaman status in limitation proceeding, though Jones Act claims were also raised in stayed state court proceeding).

B. Navarre's right to proceed under Jones Act

1. Test for seaman status under Jones Act

As noted above, the Jones Act provides remedies in tort for a seaman who is injured in the course of his employment. Land-based maritime employees, on the other hand, are limited to worker's compensation under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act ("LHWCA"), 33 U.S.C. § 901, et seq.⁴ In re Two-J Ranch, 534 F.Supp.2d at 677. A plaintiff is only a seaman under the Jones Act if (1) his duties contribute to the function of the vessel or the accomplishment of its mission, and (2) he hasa connection to a vessel in navigation that is substantial both in duration and nature. Chandris, 515 U.S. at 368.

"To satisfy the first prong of the Chandris test, the claimant need only show that he 'do[es] the ship's work.'" Endeavour Marine, 234 F.3d at 290. This requirement is very broad. Id. Under the second prong, the court must look to

the total circumstances of an individual's employment . . . to determine whether he had a sufficient relationship to the navigation of vessels and the perils attendant thereon. The duration of a worker's connection to a vessel and the nature of the worker's activities, taken together, determine whether a maritime employee is a seaman because the ultimate inquiry is whether the worker in question is a member of the vessel's crew or simply a land-based employee who happens to be working on the vessel at a given time.

Chandris, 515 U.S. at 370. Because the issue is largely a factual determination, "[t]he Fifth Circuit strongly discourages summary judgment on the question of whether [a] claimant meets this test." O'Meara, 2002 WL 1433881 at *1 (citing Sharp v. Johnson Bros. Corp., 917 F.2d 885, 888 (5th Cir. 1990)). Accordingly, the question should only be taken from the jury "where undisputed facts reveal that a maritime worker has a clearly inadequate temporal connection to vessels in navigation . . . ." Chandris, 515 U.S. at 371. To establish a sufficient temporal connection, a plaintiff must show that he spends at least 30 percent of his time in service of a vessel or an identifiable group of vessels. Roberts v. Cardinal Services, Inc., 266 F.3d 368, 374-75 (5th Cir. 2001). Fixed platforms do not qualify as vessels. Becker v. Tidewater, Inc., 335 F.3d 376, 391 (5th Cir. 2003).

2. Application

At the time of the accident Navarre was employed by Prosper as an operator, working seven days on and seven days off at twelve hours per day. Doc. 45, att. 3, p. 1(declaration of Prosper president Charles Abshire); doc. 53, att. 2, ¶¶ 2, 7 (Navarre declaration). In this job, states his former supervisor Steven Matt, he was responsible for traveling to well control units throughout the Sweet Lake oil field to read the gauges and monitors for leaks and to operate equipment located at the units. Doc. 45, att. 4, ¶ 7. Matt further states...