Background:
The matter before this Court was a motion for Summary Judgment filed by defendant, Trump Casino.

Catherine Rodriguez (Rodriguez), plaintiff, worked as a dealer on a gaming boat owned and operated by Trump. While waiting for the bus and crossing a cafeteria to throw her cup away, she fell.  Rodriguez filed her complaint on June 20, 2002 seeking relief under the Jones Act and maintenance and cure, and unseaworthiness.

The defendant filed for summary judgment denying liability under the Jones Act, maintenance and cure, and unseaworthiness.

Issue:
Did the Court grant defendants' motion for summary judgment?

Held:
The Jones Act limits relief to one who is a "seaman" at the time of injury. To prove seaman status under the Jones Act, Rodriguez must show that both (1) her duties contributed to the function of the "vessel in navigation" or to the accomplishment of that vessel's mission and (2) that she had a substantial employment-related connection to a "vessel in navigation". Summary judgment on the question of seaman status and the necessary subsidiary question of "vessel in navigation" is generally a mixed question of facts and law reserved for a jury and must be granted only where the facts and law reasonably support only one conclusion.

This Court found that Rodriguez's work as a dealer contributed to the function or mission of the Trump Casino vessel and gave her a substantial-related connection to the gaming boat. At the very least the employment questions create a disputed fact that is appropriately determined by a jury.

Trump argues that Rodriguez was not acting within the scope of her employment because she had punched out, exited the vessel, and was not working for the benefit of Trump. This Court relies on the Federal Employers' Liability Act, which states that "it would violate fair play for the railroad to encourage its employees to lodge at a particular establishment and then escape liability for injuries suffered by its workers as a result of the poor quality of the facilities it encouraged them to use", in determining whether to hold Trump liable for its employee's injuries incurred while waiting for a nearby bus. Accordingly, this Court found Rodriguez has raised an issue of fact whether she was acting within the scope of her employment when she was punched out and drinking a soda in the cafeteria while waiting for her bus.

Furthermore, this Court found a genuine issue as to the question of Trump's notice of the dangerous condition in the cafeteria. Accordingly this Court denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment as to Rodriguez's Jones Act claim.

Second, the maintenance and cure claim, survived summary judgment because Rodriguez added the claim after the stay was lifted. The claim has not been briefed by the parties and accordingly this Court could not grant defendant's motion to the maintenance and cure claim.

Finally, this Court grants defendants' motion for summary judgment as to Rodriguez's unseaworthiness claim because injuries that do not occur on the vessel are not an action under unseaworhiness.

Comment:
The plaintiff, a casino dealer, was able to survive summary judgment by introducing evidence that created genuine issues of material fact. While this Court did not decide on the issue of her "seaman" status as a dealer it did hold that she presented a genuine issue of fact because of her substantial connection to the vessel's mission.

Steve Gordon
http://www.offshoreinjuries.com