Recent Development by Celeste Coco-Ewing
Earl Wayne Coats left Mississippi to work for Maritime Industrial Services (MIS) on offshore vessels off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Injured during a routine test on a jack-up rig owned by Penrod Drilling Corporation, Coats filed suit against Penrod, MIS, and Lee's Material Services, Incorporated, in the Southern District of Mississippi. Penrod filed a cross-claim for contribution and indemnity against MIS. At trial, Coats prevailed in a jury verdict on his negligence and unseaworthiness claims and received a judgment for $925,000. The jury assessed fault against Coats at twenty percent, against Penrod at twenty percent, and against MIS at sixty percent. Penrod and MIS were held jointly and severally liable for the full damages less that portion attributable to Coats's fault. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the lower court's decision. On rehearing en banc, the Fifth Circuit addressed both choice of law issues and a proposal to abandon joint and several liability, holding that joint and several liability, and not modified joint liability, applies to concurrent tortfeasors for personal injury claims arising under the general maritime law. Coats v. Penrod Drilling Corporation, 61 F.3d 1113 (5th Cir. 1995) (en banc).
About the Author
Celeste Coco-Ewing.
Citation
70 Tul. L. Rev. 785 (1995)