Article by W. Boyd Reeves
Prior to the 1972 amendments to the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA), the United States Supreme Court had extended the warranty of seaworthiness to shore based workers. This warranty, as a practical matter, amounted to liability without fault for most shipboard injuries. In Ryan Stevedoring Co. v. Pan-Atlantic S.S. Corp., the Supreme Court held that as a matter of contract law, the shipowner could obtain from the stevedore an express or implied warranty of workmanlike performance that might, and often did, result in idemnification of the shipowner for the stevedore's liability to an injured longshoreman.
These decisions completely circumvented the exclusivity thought to have been given employers by the 1927 Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act and engendered a legion of cases involving longshoreman versus shipowner versus stevedore. In response, Congress legislatively overruled Ryan by enacting the 1972 amendments to the LHWCA which eliminate the shipowners' liability to longshoremen for unseaworthiness and the stevedores' liability to shipowners for unworkmanlike service resulting in injury to longshoremen.
The 1972 amendments to the LHWCA, while eliminating the warranty of seaworthiness, make the vessel liable for its own negligence which causes injury to the shore based worker. Section 905(b), which was added to the LHWCA by the 1972 amendments, provides:
In the event of injury to a person covered under this Chapter caused by the negligence of a vessel, then such person, or anyone otherwise entitled to recover damages by reason thereof, may bring an action against such vessel as a third party in accordance with the provisions of section 933 of this title, and the employer shall not be liable to the vessel for such damages directly or indirectly and any agreements or warranties to the contrary shall be void. If such person was employed by the vessel to provide stevedoring services, no such action shall be permitted if the injury was caused by the negligence of persons engaged in providing stevedoring services to the vessel. If such person was employed by the vessel to provide ship building or repair services, no such action shall be permitted if the injury was caused by the negligence of persons engaged in providing ship building or repair services to the vessel. The liability of the vessel under this subsection shall not be based upon the warranty of seaworthiness or a breach thereof at the time the injury occurred. The remedy provided in this subsection shall be exclusive of all other remedies against the vessel except remedies available under this Act.
It is this section which has given rise to conflicts in judicial construction and which is the subject of this article.
About the Author
W. Boyd Reeves. LL.B. 1959, Tulane University; Member of the Alabama and Louisiana Bars.
Citation
55 Tul. L. Rev. 1089 (1981)