Odilon Gonzales et al. v. Louisiana Scrap Metals Recycling Lake Charles LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana denied Everest National Insurance Company’s motion for summary judgment in a wrongful-death action arising from a flash fire aboard a vessel being scrapped. The court held that Everest had not shown the absence of a factual dispute regarding whether the M/V SMITH TIDE remained a vessel for purposes of the Jones Act and Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, which affected application of the policy’s Marine Liability Exclusion.

Holdings

1. Summary judgment was inappropriate because Everest failed to present evidence eliminating a genuine dispute of material fact concerning whether the M/V SMITH TIDE remained a vessel subject to the Jones Act or the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
2. The court could not determine on the existing record whether the M/V SMITH TIDE qualified as a vessel at the time of the accident, and plaintiffs could argue in the alternative that maritime law did or did not apply.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Everest was entitled to summary judgment on the ground that the policy's Marine Liability Exclusion barred coverage for claims invoking the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.
2. Whether the record established as a matter of law that the M/V SMITH TIDE was not a vessel, or alternatively remained a vessel, for purposes of the Jones Act and the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.

Disposition

other