Lee v. Kisen, 71-1094.

• Decision Date: 02 April 1973
• Docket Number: No. 71-1094.,71-1094.
• Citation: 475 F.2d 1251
• Parties: Charles LEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Yamashita Shinnihon KISEN, Defendant-Appellee, J. P. FLORIO & CO., INC., Third Party Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

475 F.2d 1251 (1973)

Charles LEE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Yamashita Shinnihon KISEN, Defendant-Appellee J. P. FLORIO & CO., INC., Third Party Defendant-Appellee.

No. 71-1094.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

April 2, 1973.

Frank S. Bruno, New Orleans, La., for plaintiff-appellant.

James G. Burke, Jr., Thomas W. Thorne, Jr., B. Ralph Bailey, New Orleans, La., for J. P. Florio & Co., Inc.

Before JOHN R. BROWN, Chief Judge, and MOORE^* and RONEY, Circuit Judges.

RONEY, Circuit Judge:

This appeal raises the question of whether the district judge properly transferred the case to the admiralty docket because the plaintiff failed to establish the requisite jurisdictional amount for a civil action, in which he would have been entitled to a jury. Holding that this is not one of those rare cases where it appears to a legal certainty that the claim is for less than the jurisdictional $10,000, we reverse and remand for a jury trial.

The action arises out of injuries suffered by the longshoreman plaintiff, Charles Lee, when he was loading cargo on a vessel. Plaintiff's position is that the injury occurred because of the faulty and negligently placed dunnage flooring on the vessel. A 600-pound drum which Lee was moving fell into an aperture between layers of dunnage and onto a piece of dunnage that broke, causing the drum to smash the ring finger of his right hand.

Filed as a diversity suit under general maritime law, the complaint alleged negligence of the shipowner and unseaworthiness of the vessel and demanded a jury trial. At the conclusion of plaintiff's case, the Court granted defendant's motion for directed verdict on the negligence claim and submitted the unseaworthiness claim to the jury. When the jury deadlocked, the trial judge dismissed it, ruled that the plaintiff had failed to prove the jurisdictional amount requisite to civil jurisdiction, and transferred the cause to the admiralty docket. The Court rendered judgment for defendant on the merits, and plaintiff appealed. From the commencement of the lawsuit, the defendants had been urging the Court either to dismiss the cause for lack of jurisdiction or transfer it to the admiralty docket, and the trial judge frequently expressed doubt that the plaintiff could satisfy the jurisdictional requirements.

The action of a longshoreman for personal injury occurring on a vessel in navigable waters can be brought on the civil side of the federal District Court when there is diversity of citizenship, the requisite jurisdictional amount of the claim, and personal jurisdiction of the defendants, all present in this case. 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331, 1332; see M. Norris, Maritime Personal Injuries § 82. Plaintiff has the burden of proving to the Court that the damages sought meet the jurisdictional requirement. McNutt v. General Motors Acceptance Corp. of Indiana, 298 U.S. 178, 56 S.Ct. 780, 80 L.Ed. 1135 (1936). But to justify dismissal by the Court, it must appear to a legal certainty that the claim is really for less than the jurisdictional amount. St. Paul Mercury Indemn. Co. v. Red Cab Co., 303 U.S. 283, 58 S.Ct. 586, 82 L.Ed. 845 (1938); see Opelika Nursing Home, Inc. v. Richardson, 5 Cir., 448 F.2d 658 (1971).

For this reason, the trial judge, considering the jurisdictional amount claim on three separate occasions, each time deferred ruling on the question until the end of the trial. The Court's basis for ultimately finding plaintiff's jurisdictional claim was insufficient was that, even assuming that proposed, additional surgery were necessary, Lee had shown only nine weeks...