UPDATED The Supreme Court denied certiorari. It is likely, after more courts look at the issue, the Supreme Court will resolve the circuit split.
We have previously reported on the ongoing saga of McBride, et al v. Estis Well Services, LLC, 768 F.3d 382 (5th Cir. 2014) and the availability of punitive damages under general maritime law for an employer’s willful and wanton breach of the duty to provide a seaworthy vessel. The plaintiffs in McBride have filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari requesting the U.S. Supreme Court review the Fifth Circuit’s decision in the case.
The McBride case arose from the collapse of a drilling rig aboard a barge in Bayou Sorrell, a navigable waterway in the State of Louisiana. Three crew members were injured and a fourth was killed. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana initially granted the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss plaintiffs’ claims for punitive damages for the Jones Act negligence and unseaworthiness causes of action. A three judge panel of the Fifth Circuit then reversed the District Court, relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend, 129 S. Ct. 2561 (2009), which allowed for the recovery of punitive damages in an action for failure to pay maintenance and cure. Rehearing was subsequently granted en banc before the Fifth Circuit, where a majority of the active judges on the Circuit reversed the panel’s decision, ruling punitive damages were still prohibited in an action for unseaworthiness even in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Townsend.
It is hard to say whether the Supreme Court will grant certiorari to resolve the present circuit split. There are cases going both ways on the issue, but the Supreme Court may wait for more circuits to rule on the issue to develop the matter further. Rest assured, we will be watching this historic case as it reaches its ultimate conclusion. The petition for certiorari will be heard on February 26th.
Author: Tripp Dubose