Magee v. Ensco Offshore Co.

Full title: BRODERICK MAGEE v. ENSCO OFFSHORE CO., ET AL.

Court: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE DIVISION

Date published: Mar 11, 2015

CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-468 (W.D. La. Mar. 11, 2015)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-468

03-11-2015

BRODERICK MAGEE v. ENSCO OFFSHORE CO., ET AL.

JUDGE DOHERTY

MAGISTRATE JUDGE HANNA MEMORANDUM RULING

Currently pending before the Court is a motion for summary judgment [Doc. 30], filed by defendant Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC ("Hornbeck"). By way of its motion, defendant seeks dismissal of "Plaintiff's claims against it for unseaworthiness and punitive damages." [Id. at 1] The motion is unopposed.¹

1 The deadline for submission of a memorandum in opposition to the motion for summary judgment has passed, and no opposition has been received by the Court. [Doc. 31] Accordingly, the motion is deemed unopposed. [Id.]

Defendant argues plaintiff's claim of unseaworthiness against it must be dismissed, because:

In sum, no genuine issue [of material fact] exists as to whether (1) Plaintiff as a Jones Act seaman employed by [co-defendant] ENSCO and assigned to the ENSCO 8501; (2) Hornbeck was not Plaintiff's employer; and (3) Plaintiff was not a member of the [Hornbeck] Silver Arrow crew. Since he was not a member of the crew of the Silver Arrow, Plaintiff has no claim for unseaworthiness against Hornbeck as a matter of law, and Hornbeck is entitled to summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's unseaworthiness claim, with prejudice.

[Doc. 30-1, p. 8 (citing Smith v. Harbor Towing & Fleeting, Inc., 910 F.2d 312, 315 (5^th Cir. 1990))]

Defendant argues plaintiff's claim against it for punitive damages should be "dismissed, with prejudice, since it is undisputed that [plaintiff] only asserts general maritime law claims (i.e., unseaworthiness and general maritime negligence) against Hornbeck, and non-pecuniary damages (i.e., punitive damages) are not recoverable under the general maritime law." [Doc. 30, p. 1; see also Doc. 30-1, pp. 8-9 (citing McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C., 768 F.3d 382, 390-91 (5^th Cir. 2014))]

The motion for summary judgment [Doc. 30], appealing to be well-founded in law and fact and being unopposed by plaintiff, is hereby GRANTED, and plaintiff's claims against Hornbeck for unseaworthiness and punitive damages are hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.

THUS DONE AND SIGNED in Chambers, Lafayette, Louisiana, this 11^th day of March, 2015.

/s/_________

REBECCA F. DOHERTY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE