Strong v. B.P. Exploration & Production, Inc.
| Decision Date | 15 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-30153.,05-30153. |
| Parties | Alan STRONG, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, Alan Strong, Individually and in His Capacity as Administrator on Behalf of Lindsey Strong Estate, on Behalf of Chelsey Strong Estate, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. B.P. EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION, INC., Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Thomas R. Edwards (argued), Domengeaux, Wright, Roy & Edwards, Lafayette, LA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Edward S. Johnson (argued), Michael W. Mallory, Johnson, Johnson, Barrios & Yacoubian, New Orleans, LA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Before JOLLY, HIGGINBOTHAM and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
B.P. Exploration & Production, Inc. ("B.P."), appeals the denial of summary judgment, asserting that Alan Strong's tort claim is time-barred. Finding that federal maritime law provides the operative statute of limitations, we reverse and remand.
In October 1998, Amoco Production Company ("Amoco"), B.P.'s predecessor in interest, employed Cardinal Wireline Services ("Cardinal") to plug an oil well that had been drilled on the outer continental shelf, off the coast of Louisiana but outside the state's territorial limit. Strong was a member of the Cardinal crew transported to the Amoco oil platform by a utility boat. A liftboat was jacked up next to the platform to provide additional workspace for the various operations at the well.
When the Cardinal crew arrived, the deck of the liftboat was cluttered with the equipment of an electric line crew that had not yet finished its work. Because the platform deck was too small for the wireline equipment, Strong inquired whether some of the electric line equipment could be moved from the deck of the liftboat. An Amoco supervisor responded that the electric line equipment had to remain where it was until the electric line work was completed. The supervisor told the Cardinal crew that because the weather was deteriorating, he had to send the utility boat back to shore. Strong and his crew therefore had to unload their equipment under existing conditions.
The crew needed to use the liftboat crane to unload its equipment. The only available space for the wireline equipment, however, was directly underneath the crane. The crane could not boom high enough to place the equipment there. As a result, when the crane picked up the tool boxes, the Cardinal crew had to swing the boxes over to the empty space. Two large tool boxes were ultimately placed near the base of the crane, close to one another.
After unloading its equipment, the crew waited for the electric line work to be completed, then performed the wireline services. When it was finished, the crew had to put its equipment back in the boxes on the liftboat and await transportation to shore by the liftboat or a utility boat.
Strong alleges that there was inadequate room to load the tool boxes properly on account of the position of the boxes and the clutter on the liftboat deck caused by the still-present electric line equipment. Because of the lack of space, Strong chose to load the equipment by picking up the tools and swinging them to another crewman who was standing in between the tool boxes. When the crew was almost finished loading its tools, Strong picked up a "stuffing box" and swung it to the crewman standing between the tool boxes. The crewman failed to catch the box, which swung back to Strong, who managed to catch it but injured his back.
In February 2003, Strong, individually and on behalf of his minor children, together with his wife, sued B.P. in federal court for, inter alia, lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium resulting from the injury, which Strong contends was caused by Amoco's negligence in creating an unsafe work environment. He alleges jurisdiction under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ("OCSLA"), 43 U.S.C. §§ 1331 et seq., and asserts that Louisiana's one-year statute of limitations on his tort claim, incorporated as federal law by OCSLA, was tolled while he received benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act ("LHWCA"), such that the prescriptive period had not run when he sued.
B.P. moved for summary judgment, arguing that federal maritime law applies of its own force and provides a three-year statute of limitations that bars Strong's claim. The district court denied B.P.'s motion without opinion but certified its ruling for immediate appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b). We granted B.P. leave to appeal.
Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment
shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
FED.R.CIV.P. 56(c). We review the denial of summary judgment de novo using the criteria employed by the district court. Patterson v. Mobil Oil Corp., 335 F.3d 476, 487 (5th Cir.2003).
provides comprehensive choice-of-law rules and federal regulation to a wide range of activity occurring beyond the territorial waters of the states on the outer continental shelf of the United States. . . . [I]t applies federal law to certain structures and devices on the OCS, incorporates state law into federal law on the OCS, and applies the LHWCA to certain injuries sustained by persons working on the OCS.
Demette v. Falcon Drilling Co., Inc., 280 F.3d 492, 495-96 (5th Cir.2002). If state law, as incorporated by OCSLA, governs Strong's tort claim, the one year liberative prescription period for delictual actions under Louisiana law was tolled by Strong's receipt of benefits under the LHWCA. See Cormier v. Clemco Servs. Corp., 48 F.3d 179, 183 (5th Cir.1995). The parties do not dispute that if Louisiana law must be borrowed under OCSLA, Strong's complaint is timely.
Three conditions must be met before state law is adopted as surrogate federal law under OCSLA: Union Tex. Petroleum Corp. v. PLT Eng'g, Inc., 895 F.2d 1043, 1047 (5th Cir.1990). By not contesting Strong's arguments that (1) and (3) are satisfied, B.P. implicitly concedes that those conditions have been met. The sole issue is whether federal maritime law applies of its own force.
Under federal maritime law, "a suit for recovery of damages for personal injury or death, or both, arising out of a maritime tort, shall not be maintained unless commenced within three years from the date the cause of...
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