[B]Date Decided[/B]: Jun 11th, 1999
[B]Decided By[/B]: U.S. Court Of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (federal)
[B]Court[/B]: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
[B]Citation[/B]: Delange v. Dutra Construction, Inc., 169 F.3d 666, 1999 AMC 1864 (9th Cir. 1999)
[B]Background[/B]:
Brian Delange worked as a carpenter for DutraConstruction Inc. (Dutra). His dutiesincluded mechanical work, welding, carpentry, supply runs, and occasionallypile driving. At no point in his workwith Dutra was he permanently or regularly assigned to a vessel owned byDutra. He would, however, occasionalperform work deckhand work and only once he piloted a tug. On the day of his injury, Delange was workingas a piledriver engaged in the construction of a navigation aid. He was transported to the worksite on a bargethat was being pushed by a tugboat. Duringtransit, Delange was charged with the duty of keeping the barge’s equipmentsecure. Delange’s fingers were crushedwhile he was assisting in the lowering of the anchor. He filedsuit against Dutra under both the Jones Act and the Longshore Harbor andWorker’s Compensation Act. In response,Dutra filed and won motions for summary judgment on both claims Delangeasserted. Delange appealed, arguing thatthe trial court erred in holding that he did not raise a triable issue of factpertaining to his status as a seaman and that the record showed specific factsthat his LHWCA negligence claim was triable. Read More…