Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, No. 90-4022
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before GEE, SMITH, and WIENER; PER CURIAM |
| Citation | 910 F.2d 276 |
| Parties | PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC. and American Home Assurance Company, Petitioners, v. Mary E. BARGER and Director, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor, Respondents. Summary Calendar. |
| Decision Date | 04 September 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-4022 |
Page 276
Company, Petitioners,
v.
Mary E. BARGER and Director, Office of Workers' Compensation
Programs, United States Department of Labor, Respondents.
Fifth Circuit.
Page 277
Vance E. Ellefson, C. Theodore Alpaugh, III, Metairie, La., for petitioners.
Donald Shire, Solicitor of Labor, U.S. Dept. of Labor, Washington, D.C., for appellees.
Mary Ellen Blade, Beckenstein, Oxford, Radford & Johnson, Beaumont, Tex., for Mary E. Barger.
Joshua T. Gillelan, II, Office of the Solicitor of Labor, Benefits Review Bd., U.S. Dept. of Labor, Washington, D.C., for Director.
On Petition for Review of an Order of The Benefits Review Board.
Before GEE, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges:
PER CURIAM:
Walter Barger was killed when the helicopter he was piloting crashed on a flight between fixed platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Barger was employed by Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. (hereafter "PHI"); and, after his death, PHI voluntarily instituted payment of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation benefits to his widow and children.
Mrs. Barger sued Bell Helicopter Textron, the manufacturer of the helicopter, and Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. on the theory that the helicopter was a "vessel" and that Mr. Barger was a "seaman" within the meaning of the Jones Act (46 U.S.C.App. Sec. 688).
Mrs. Barger's counsel was advised that Longshoremen benefits were being paid but that, if the Bargers were contending that Mr. Barger was a "seaman", Longshore benefits were not due and would be terminated. Counsel replied that the plaintiffs' position was that Mr. Barger was a "seaman" and that he was covered by the Jones Act. Longshore benefits were then discontinued. On the eve of trial, Bell and the plaintiffs settled their claims. In return for a release of all liability, Bell agreed that, if cast in judgment, it would pay Mrs. Barger $225,000.00. Mrs. Barger agreed not to execute any judgment against Bell or seek anything over the agreed amount. Bell's counsel was present for trial, but took virtually no part in the proceedings. Bell was cast in judgment in the District Court, which held the aircraft to be a "vessel" and Mr. Barger to be a Jones Act seaman.
PHI appealed that decision to our Court, and we reversed on the Jones Act Issue. Bell then paid Mrs. Barger in accordance with the...
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Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Company, No. 91-17
...written-approval requirement. Because this holding, and a decision by a panel in a different case, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276 (CA5 1990), conflicted with a previous unpublished decision in the same Circuit, Kahny v. O.W.C.P., 729 F.2d 777 (CA5 1984), the Court of Ap......
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Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, No. 93-7077
...would result, without exception, in forfeiture of benefits under the LHWCA. Id. at 1553; See also, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 278 (5th Cir.1990); Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 647 (5th Cir.1986). On rehearing en banc of the Cowart case, this......
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Pool v. General American Oil Co., BRB 96-314
...Service, 22 BRBS 61 (1989), aff'd on other grounds mem., 20 F.3d 465 (5th Cir. 1994); see also Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 23 BRBS 143 (CRT) aff'd en banc sub nom. Nicklos Drilling Co. v. Cowart, 927 F.2d 828, 24 BRBS 93 (CRT) (5th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 505 U.S.......
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Nicklos Drilling Co. v. Cowart, Nos. 89-4944
...Transco Exploration Company, which owned the offshore platform that supported Nicklos's rig. In Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276 (5th Cir.1990), Mary Barger, the widow of Walter Barger, sought LHWCA compensation for her husband's death. Mr. Barger died when the helicopter......
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Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Company, No. 91-17
...written-approval requirement. Because this holding, and a decision by a panel in a different case, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276 (CA5 1990), conflicted with a previous unpublished decision in the same Circuit, Kahny v. O.W.C.P., 729 F.2d 777 (CA5 1984), the Court of Ap......
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Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, No. 93-7077
...would result, without exception, in forfeiture of benefits under the LHWCA. Id. at 1553; See also, Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 278 (5th Cir.1990); Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Collier, 784 F.2d 644, 647 (5th Cir.1986). On rehearing en banc of the Cowart case, this......
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Pool v. General American Oil Co., BRB 96-314
...Service, 22 BRBS 61 (1989), aff'd on other grounds mem., 20 F.3d 465 (5th Cir. 1994); see also Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276, 23 BRBS 143 (CRT) aff'd en banc sub nom. Nicklos Drilling Co. v. Cowart, 927 F.2d 828, 24 BRBS 93 (CRT) (5th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, 505 U.S.......
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Nicklos Drilling Co. v. Cowart, Nos. 89-4944
...Transco Exploration Company, which owned the offshore platform that supported Nicklos's rig. In Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 910 F.2d 276 (5th Cir.1990), Mary Barger, the widow of Walter Barger, sought LHWCA compensation for her husband's death. Mr. Barger died when the helicopter......