Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger, 90-4022
| Citation | 910 F.2d 276 |
| Decision Date | 04 September 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-4022,90-4022 |
| 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. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit) |
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:
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 settlement...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Company
...to its 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 Cour......
-
Ingalls Shipbuilding, Inc. v. Asbestos Health Claimants, 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......
-
Nicklos Drilling Co. v. Cowart, s. 89-4944
... ... Department of Labor, Respondents ... PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC. and American Home Assurance ... Company, Petitioners, ... Mary E. BARGER and Director, Office of Workers' Compensation ... Programs, ... Nos. 89-4944, 90-4022 ... United States Court of Appeals, ... Fifth Circuit ... ...
-
Petroleum Helicopters, Inc. v. Barger
...917 F.2d 188 ... PETROLEUM HELICOPTERS, INC., and American Home Assurance ... Company, Petitioners, ... Mary E. BARGER and Director, Office of Workers' Compensation ... Programs, United States Department of Labor, Respondents ... No. 90-4022" ... United States Court of Appeals, ... Fifth Circuit ... Nov. 6, 1990 ... Vance E. Ellefson, C. Theodore Alpaugh, III, Metairie, La., for petitioners ... Donald Shire, Sol. of Labor, U.S. Dept. of Labor NDOL, Washington, D.C., for respondents ... \xC2" ... ...