McFarland v. Justiss Oil Co., Inc.

• Citation: 526 So.2d 1206
• Decision Date: 06 April 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-219,87-219
• Parties: Earl B. McFARLAND, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JUSTISS OIL COMPANY, INC., et al., Defendants-Appellants. 526 So.2d 1206
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 1206

526 So.2d 1206

Earl B. McFARLAND, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JUSTISS OIL COMPANY, INC., et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. 87-219.

526 So.2d 1206

Court of Appeal of Louisiana Third Circuit.

April 6, 1988.

Paul B. Wilkins, Columbia, for plaintiff-appellee.

Percy, Smith, Foote & Honeycutt, P.C., Steven C. Graalmann, Gist, Methvin, Hughes & Munsterman, David A. Hughes, Alexandria, for defendants-appellants.

Before GUIDRY, DOUCET and KNOLL, JJ.

GUIDRY, Judge.

On June 4, 1982, plaintiff, Earl B. McFarland, was employed as a roughneck by Justiss Oil Company, Inc. (hereafter Justiss) on its Rig 17. In April of 1982, Rig 17 had been temporarily attached to a pontoon barge owned by Flexa-Float Company of Houston, Texas, and leased by it to Placid Oil Company (hereafter Placid). Justiss leased Rig 17 and the necessary drilling crews to operate the drilling rig on Catahoula Lake in LaSalle Parish to Placid. Rig 17 was operated in this manner from April 23, 1982 until June 22, 1982, when it was removed from the pontoon barge and returned to land based operations.

McFarland was involved in an accident on June 4, 1982, following which Hartford Insurance Company (hereafter Hartford), the worker's compensation insurer of Justiss, began paying benefits to McFarland pursuant to the Louisiana Worker's Compensation Act, i.e., benefits at the rate of $183.00 a week plus medical and related expenses.

McFarland filed the instant suit against Justiss and Hartford seeking recovery of benefits under the Jones Act and General Maritime Law alleging himself to be a seaman working on a vessel in navigation. Justiss and Hartford answered generally denying McFarland's demands and particularly denying (1) that Catahoula Lake was navigable; (2) that McFarland was a seaman; and, (3) that McFarland had a cause of action under the Jones Act and general maritime law.

After a bench trial, judgment was rendered in favor of McFarland against Justiss and Hartford. The trial court concluded that McFarland was a seaman working on a vessel on navigable waters and thus had a cause of action under the Jones Act and General Maritime Law. The trial court found Justiss guilty of negligence and further found it responsible under the doctrine of unseaworthiness as the vessel owner pro hac vice. Plaintiff was found guilty of comparative fault to the extent of 20%. Pursuant to these findings, the trial court awarded plaintiff the net sum of $152,000.00 plus maintenance at the rate of $15.00 per day from June 4, 1982 to May 14, 1984, subject to a credit in favor of Justiss for worker's compensation benefits paid. The court awarded judgment for legal interest from date of judicial demand until paid.

Justiss and Hartford have perfected this suspensive appeal from that judgment urging the following errors:

1. The trial court erred in concluding that Catahoula Lake is navigable for the purpose of conferring Jones Act and Admiralty Jurisdiction.

2. The trial court erred in concluding that Earl B. McFarland was a seaman or member of a crew.

3. The trial court erred in concluding that Justiss Oil Company, Inc. was the owner pro hac vice of the pontoon barge and thus liable under the unseaworthiness doctrine.

4. The trial court erred in its assessment of percentages of liability.

5. The trial court erred in awarding pre-judgment interest on damages awarded for future loss.

Plaintiff answered the appeal urging trial error as follows:

1. The trial court erred in finding plaintiff 20% at fault.

2. The trial court erred in denying plaintiff's claim for punitive damages.

3. The trial court erred in awarding plaintiff maintenance at the rate of $15.00 per day rather than at the rate of $26.42 per day which plaintiff was receiving under the Louisiana Worker's Compensation law.

4. The trial court erred in ordering that defendants be given credit for the worker's compensation benefits paid to plaintiff, said credit to be applied first against the maintenance awarded and the excess, if any, to be applied against plaintiff's damage award.

FACTS

Plaintiff, Earl B. McFarland, went to work for Justiss in the late 1970s. He worked as a driller solely on land based rigs up until the slow down in the "oil patch" which resulted in the stacking of the rig on which he worked (Justiss Rig 8) on May 13, 1982. Shortly thereafter, on May 28, 1982, McFarland accepted the position of "roustabout" on Justiss Rig 17. Rig 17 had been leased by Justiss to Placid and had been mounted on a drilling barge made up of shallow draft pontoons which Placid had leased from Flexa-Float. The pontoons had been tacked together in order to accommodate the Justiss rig. As constructed, a ten foot wide opening referred to as a "keyway" or "spillway" was left in the middle of the front end of the barge. The keyway allowed the barge to be pushed over conductor pipes through which the drilling operations were conducted. Pipe racks were installed on each side of the keyway and a catwalk had been constructed over the opening. A hinged wire mesh grating covered the keyway near the center of the barge and 2 X 10 and 2 X 12 inch boards were provided to cover that portion of the spillway between the pipe rack and the front of the barge.

In the early morning hours of June 4, 1982, plaintiff was rolling drill pipe from the pipe racks onto the catwalk so that the pipe could be winched up to the rig floor. While engaged in this activity, McFarland stepped on a board covering the keyway, the board slipped out from under him and McFarland fell into Catahoula Lake sustaining injuries to his head and back. Plaintiff was 65 years old at the time of the accident; possessed a fourth grade education; and, had made his living by engaging in manual labor all of his life. Since June of 1982, he has been unable to work.

Plaintiff's action was filed in the state court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1333. Federal substantive admiralty and maritime law applies to this action therefore, appellate review in this case is governed by Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Lavergne v. Western Company of North America, Inc., 371 So.2d 807 (La.1979); Kratzer v. Capital Marine Supply, Inc., 645 F.2d 477 (5th Cir.1981); Melancon v. I.M.C. Drilling Mud, 282 So.2d 532 (La.App. 1st Cir.), cert. denied, 283 So.2d 769, 771 (La.1973). Under federal law and jurisprudence, the findings of fact by the trial judge can not be disturbed unless they are clearly erroneous. Kratzer, supra; Melancon, supra. The federal "clearly erroneous" standard was explained by the U.S. Supreme Court in Guzman v. Pichirilo, 369 U.S. 698, 82 S.Ct. 1095, 8 L.Ed.2d 205 (1962), as follows:

"The 'clearly erroneous' rule of civil actions is applicable to suits in admiralty in general, McAllister v. United States, 348 U.S. 19, 20, 75 S.Ct. 6, 7, 99 L.Ed. 20 (1954); see Roper v. United States, 368 U.S. 20, 23, 82 S.Ct. 5, 7 (1961), and to the existence of the operative facts of a demise charter party in particular, Gardner v. The Calvert, 253 F.2d 395, 399 (C.A.3d Cir.1958). Under this rule an appellate court cannot upset a trial court's factual findings unless it 'is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.' United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948)...."

See also Reed v. Seacoast Products, Inc., 458 So.2d 971 (La.App. 3rd Cir.1984). With the federal standard applicable to appellate review in mind, we turn to the issues presented on appeal.

NAVIGABILITY OF CATAHOULA LAKE

The trial court determined that Catahoula Lake is a navigable body of water for purposes of the Jones Act and federal maritime jurisdiction. We agree and adopt as our own the trial court's excellent written reasons on this issue.

"The first issue to be decided is whether or not Catahoula lake [sic] is navigable for Jones Act and Federal Maritime Jurisdiction. Catahoula Lake sustains much fluctuation in water level during the year. Because of this fact, DEFENDANTS argue that Federal Maritime Jurisdiction does not attach.

The issue has been previously litigated twice to the Court's knowledge. In Wilder v Placid Oil Company, 611 F.Supp. 841 (D.C.West.Dist.La.1985) the Court found Catahoula Lake to be navigable for Federal Maritime Jurisdiction. In Allen v Hartford Insurance Company, Docket No. 20,062 of this Court, the issue was raised in a jury trial. After a number of days of trial, the matter was settled and the jury released without reaching a conclusion.

Catahoula Lake is a relatively large body of water basically created by the drainage area of the Dudgdemona River and Castor Creek. These converges [sic] to form Little River west of the lake. Little River flows into the lake bed and leaves through various tributaries. Most of these tributaries then converge again into one channel (Little River) near Archie, Louisiana, East of the Lake. From the point of convergence, the River flows eastward into Black River. Black River then runs into Red River which in turn runs into the Atchafalaya River. From this point, one traveling the River would have unobstructed access to the intercostal [sic] waterways down the Atchafalaya River, or back into the Mississippi River all the way into the Gulf. East of the lake at Archie, Louisiana, the river is traversed by a weir which was constructed by the U.S. Corp of Engineers in 1972. This weir has a crest of 36 feet above sea level and does make travel up the river into the lake somewhat difficult.

Certain evidence used in the Allen case was filed in this matter by agreement of all parties to avoid unnecessary duplication. This included the testimony of Thomas W. Coon, Julian Thompson, and Hansford Kuhn as well as the deposition on written questions of Gaylon McGregor of the Corp of Engineers. All this testimony was addressed to the issue of navigability. From this testimony it is clear that numerous vessels have navigated into and on Catahoula Lake...