Background: Plaintiff, Toney Thibodeaux, brought suit against his employer, Lytal Marine Services, L.L.C. ("Lytal").

Thibodeaux brought claims for personal injuries arising from an alleged injury on his employer's vessel.  The injury occurred when Thibodeaux was climbing into a rope locker after it was determined that it was filled with 4-5 feet of sea water. He discovered that the hatch cover was missing certain parts to form a water-tight seal. Thibodeaux was descending the ladder when he slipped and fell on a rung of the ladder, striking his lower back on an angle iron alongside the bulkhead.

Thibodeaux asserted personal injury claims under the Jones Act and general maritime law as a result of the accident. He claimed the vessel was unseaworthy, due to missing components of the rope locker hatch cover assembly.

Lytal filed a third-party complaint against Master Boat Builders ("MBB"). The complaint asserted claims for indemnity under a contract to design, manufacture, and build the vessel. MBB allegedly also failed to name Lytal as an additional assured as required by the contract.  MBB moved for summary judgment against Lytal. They refused to respond to discovery requests until their summary judgment motion was either granted or denied.

Issue: Whether the Court will grant MBB's motion for summary judgment against Lytal.

Held:

The Court held MBB's motion for summary judgment was denied. MBB failed to respond to Lytal's discovery requests, which were relevant to issues on which this summary judgment was based.

Additionally, neither party discussed in detail whether the hatch cover was painted and sealed shut or properly fitted. The Court held this was an issue that could not be resolved without more information. Thus, summary judgment would be inappropriate.

Comments:

The Court focused on the requirements needed to grant a summary judgment. Here, relevant information needed to make a decision was unavailable in the briefs. It would be inappropriate to grant summary judgment without the judge knowing the full set of facts.  Thus, each party now has the opportunity to gather more evidence and present their case at a later time.

Steve Gordon
http://www.offshoreinjuries.com