Recent Development by Benjamin S. Allums
A collision between the massive harbor dredge, SUPER SCOOP, and one of its scows seriously injured marine engineer Willard Stewart when the resulting jolt plunged him headfirst through an open engine hatch. At the time, Stewart was on board the scow servicing its engine when the SUPER SCOOP, which lay idle, used its bucket to move the scow, causing it to collide with the dredge. Stewart sued Dutra Construction Company, his employer and owner of the SUPER SCOOP, in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts under the Jones Act and, alternatively, under the Longshoremen's and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (LHWCA).
On interlocutory appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment and held that the SUPER SCOOP did not qualify as a “vessel in navigation” under the Jones Act because its “‘primary business [was] not navigation or commerce”’ nor was it “‘in actual navigation or transit.”’ The court of appeals later affirmed a second summary judgment decision, this time against the LHWCA claim. There the court concluded that although the definition of a “vessel” under section 5(b) of the LHWCA was significantly broader than under the Jones Act and included watercraft such as the SUPER SCOOP, the claim was nonetheless barred because the negligence was committed in Dutra's capacity as an employer and not as a vessel owner. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to clarify how a “vessel” should be defined under the Jones Act and the LHWCA. The Court reversed and, in a unanimous opinion, held “a ‘vessel’ is any watercraft practically capable of maritime transportation,” a definition which includes a dredge such as the SUPER SCOOP. Stewart v. Dutra Construction Co., 543 U.S. 481, 497, 2005 AMC 609, 620 (2005) (applying 1 U.S.C. § 3 (2000)).
About the Author
Benjamin S. Allums. J.D. candidate 2007, Tulane University School of Law; B.S. 2002, Louisiana State University.
Citation
80 Tul. L. Rev. 1467 (2006)