Southwest Marine, Inc. v. Gizoni

Background

A ship-repair company in San Diego owned several floating platforms that had no engines and were moved by tugboats. A rigging foreman who worked on and rode those platforms was injured when he fell through a deck opening. He accepted medical and compensation benefits under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA) and then sued his employer under the Jones Act, claiming he was a seaman. The district court granted summary judgment for the employer, saying the worker was covered by the LHWCA and not a seaman, but the Ninth Circuit reversed and sent the case on.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether being in an occupation enumerated by the LHWCA automatically bars a worker from qualifying as a seaman under the Jones Act. The Court held that the key question is the worker’s employment-related connection to a vessel in navigation, not the job title or whether the worker aided navigation. Because the LHWCA specifically excludes “a master or member of a crew,” Congress anticipated that some listed maritime workers might still be seamen. When reasonable people could differ about vessel status or the worker’s connection to it, those factual questions should go to a jury rather than be decided as a matter of law.

Real world impact

The decision means some ship-repair or harbor workers who accept LHWCA benefits may still pursue negligence claims under the Jones Act if factual disputes exist about their connection to a vessel. Courts should not treat job title alone as dispositive, nor require automatic administrative proceedings before Jones Act litigation. Acceptance of LHWCA payments without a formal award does not automatically bar a later Jones Act claim when seaman status is contested.