Preview:

FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE NEWS RELEASE # 9 FROM: CLERK OF SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA

The Opinions handed down on the 22nd day of February, 2006 , are as follows:

BY VICTORY, J. :

2005-C -0756

DELTON COUTEE v. GLOBAL MARINE DRILLING COMPANY (Parish of Lafayette) For the reasons stated herein, the judgment of the court of appeal is reversed and the judgment of the trial court is reinstated. REVERSED.

02/22/2006

SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA
No. 2005-C-0756 DELTON COUTEE VERSUS GLOBAL MARINE DRILLING COMPANY ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT, PARISH OF LAFAYETTE

VICTORY, J. We granted a writ application in this Jones Act case to determine whether the court of appeal violated the manifest error standard of review in reversing the trial court's ruling that the plaintiff failed to establish the defendant was negligent, or that the vessel or any of its appurtenances were not reasonably fit and safe for their intended purposes. After reviewing the record and the applicable law, we reverse the judgment of the court of appeal, which found that defendant's conduct constituted negligence per se, and reinstate the ruling of the trial court. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY The facts surrounding this maritime accident are largely uncontested. On January 7, 2001, Delton Coutee ("Coutee") was employed by Global Marine Drilling Company ("Global Marine") as a seaman aboard the drilling vessel GLOMAR ADRIATRIC II (the "ADRIATIC II"). The ADRIATIC II is a jack-up offshore drilling rig. At the time of the accident, it was situated in the Gulf of Mexico while the drilling crew conducted drilling operations. As part of the drilling crew, Coutee was occasionally required to work on the rig floor. Part of his work consisted of installing and removing various pieces of equipment attached to the well head. On the date of the accident, Coutee and the drill crew were in the process of removing

the lubricator on the blow out preventer ("BOP") stack. The BOP is located on the well head underneath the drill floor and consists of a series of valves, over 15 feet high, stacked on top of each other which are used to control well pressure while drilling. A hydrill is a component of the BOP stack that is located approximately four feet below the lubricator. The hydrill is a device designed to close around the drill pipe to keep gas from escaping from the well hole. To assist in the removal of the lubricator above the hydrill, Global attached a small step or platform to the side of the hydrill to give crew members a place to stand while working on the lubricator. This platform was crescent shaped, four feet long and 18 inches at its widest point. Testimony indicated that this platform was not available on most BOP stacks, but was instead put there by Global to make it easier for someone with a harness to work on the BOP. It was not a surface that anyone could walk on or access by any other means than by climbing the BOP stack with a riding belt and safety harness. While working on the BOP stack, Global Marine mandates, as a safety feature, that the crew wear fall restraint gear. Coutee was wearing a fall restraint system that included an inertia reel and safety harness that was set to catch a fall when the line played out at a certain velocity. According to Coutee's accident report, the accident occurred as follows: I was standing on the stack nippling down the lubricator. I was pulling on a wrench when the wrench slipped and I lost my footing. This caused me to fall off the stack about four feet before my safety harness and inertia reel broke my fall. Coutee filed a Petition for Damages in the 15th Judicial District Court for the Parish of Lafayette against Global Marine under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.

Download 2005-C-0756 DELTON COUTEE v. GLOBAL MARINE DRILLING COMPANY.pdf

Louisiana Law