Case Name: Phillip TRAHAN, et al. v. TEXACO, INC., XYZ Boat Rental Company, Tim Boudreaux and John Doe
Court: Louisiana Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1993-09-30
Citations: 625 So. 2d 295
Docket Number: No. 93-CA-0039
Parties: Phillip TRAHAN, et al. v. TEXACO, INC., XYZ Boat Rental Company, Tim Boudreaux and John Doe.
Judges: Before CIACCIO, PLOTKIN and WALTZER, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 625
Pages: 295–301

Head Matter:
Phillip TRAHAN, et al. v. TEXACO, INC., XYZ Boat Rental Company, Tim Boudreaux and John Doe.
No. 93-CA-0039.
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.
Sept. 30, 1993.
David B. Allen, Samanie, Barnes & Allen, Houma, for appellant.
Daniel J. Caruso, Robert L. Redfearn, Jr., Simon, Peragine, Smith & Redfearn, New Orleans, for appellees.
Before CIACCIO, PLOTKIN and WALTZER, JJ.

Opinion:
CIACCIO, Judge.
In this maritime action, plaintiff, Mary Trahan, appeals the dismissal of her loss of consortium claim on an exception of no cause of action granted in favor of defendants, Texaco, Inc. and James Gray, Inc. Finding no error in the judgment of the trial court, we affirm.
FACTS
On August 12, 1990, Philip Trahan was employed as captain of the F/V SEA WAVE, and was trawling in the territorial waters of Louisiana when the nets of the vessel became entangled in a piece of pipe. Trahan proceeded to a nearby Texaco oil platform to obtain assistance in removing the pipe from his nets. He was assisted by Texaco employees as well as a erewboat owned and operated by James Gray, Inc. During the course of removing the pipe, a rope and hook came loose from the pipe and struck Trahan in the neck and back.
As a result of his injuries, Philip Trahan and his wife, Mary Trahan, subsequently brought this suit in state court under the savings to suitors clause against Texaco and James Gray, neither of which are Trahan's employer. In their petition, plaintiffs alleged a cause of action based on general maritime negligence, and Mrs. Trahan asserted a claim for loss of consortium.
Defendants filed a peremptory exception of no cause of action, arguing that Mrs. Tra-han's loss of consortium claim is not recoverable under general maritime law, citing Miles v. Apex Marine, Corp., 498 U.S. 19, 111 S.Ct. 317, 112 L.Ed.2d 275 (1990). The trial court granted the exception, and plaintiff, Mary Trahan, now appeals.
DISCUSSION
The sole issue presented for our review is whether damages for loss of consortium are recoverable against a non-employer third party defendant under general maritime law.
On appeal, plaintiff contends that a loss of consortium claim brought against non-employer third parties is recoverable under general maritime law and the holding in Miles is therefore distinguishable on that basis.
In Miles, supra, the Supreme Court squarely held that "there is no recovery for loss of society in a general maritime action for the wrongful death of a Jones Act seaman." The Court emphasized the need for uniformity in both claims brought under the Jones Act and the general maritime law. "It would be inconsistent with our place in the constitutional scheme were we to sanction more expansive remedies in a judicially-created cause of action in which liability is without fault than Congress has allowed in cases of death resulting from negligence." Miles, supra, 498 U.S. at 32, 111 S.Ct. at 326.
The holding in Miles has been extended by federal courts to a spouse's claim for recovery for loss of consortium under general maritime law involving the nonfatal injury of a Jones Act seaman. See, Cater v. Placid Oil Co., 760 F.Supp. 568 (E.D.La.1991). In addition, Miles has been followed in a seaman's suit where no Jones Act claim is involved. In Duplantis v. Texaco, Inc., 771 F.Supp. 787 (E.D.La.1991), a seaman filed an action against a third party, Texaco, under the general maritime law, seeking to recover damages for injuries he sustained when he attempted to free his fishing nets from submerged obstructions allegedly left by Texaco. The district court held that the general maritime law does not allow a spousal claim for loss of consortium against a general maritime law negligence defendant.
This issue was recently addressed by a panel of this court in Phillips v. Water Towing, et al., 620 So.2d 1387 (La.App. 4th Cir. 1993). In that case, plaintiff was injured while working aboard a vessel in the Mississippi River and asserted a Jones Act claim against his employer as well as a negligence cause of action against a third party manufacturer. Included in plaintiffs petition was his spouse's claim for loss of consortium. The trial court held that plaintiff had no cause of action for loss of consortium, and this Court affirmed, stating:
Considering Miles and its progeny, we find that the wife of an injured seaman has no cause of action for loss of consortium under the general maritime law.
In the present case, there is no dispute that plaintiff was a seaman at the time the accident occurred, and as such, the federal substantive maritime law applies. However, on appeal, plaintiff contends that this suit, which was not brought against plaintiffs employer, does not assert a traditional Jones Act claim nor does it involve an unseaworthiness remedy. Rather, plaintiff contends that he is asserting a general maritime negligence claim against third parties to which the holding in Miles does not apply.
In support of this position, plaintiff cites Rebstock v. Sonat Offshore Drilling, 764 F.Supp. 75 (E.D.La.1991). In Rebstock, the district court held that loss of consortium" damages are recoverable in a general maritime action against third parties, relying on Tullos v. Resource Drilling, Inc., 750 F.2d 380 (5th Cir.1985). In Tullos, the plaintiff filed suit against his Jones Act employer and against a third party defendant under general maritime law. The court held that a claim for loss of consortium was not recoverable under the Jones Act, but could be recovered under general maritime law, citing Cruz v. Hendy International Co., 638 F.2d 719 (5th Cir.1981). Tullos, 750 F.2d at 285.
However, the decision in Cruz was subsequently overruled by the federal appeals court, on the basis that the holding in Miles precludes a claim for loss of consortium under general maritime law. Murray v. Anthony J. Bertucci Construction Co., Inc., 958 F.2d 127, 132 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 190, 121 L.Ed.2d 134 (1992); Michel v. Total Transportation, Inc., 957 F.2d 186, 191 (5th Cir.1992). Moreover, this court has followed the holdings of both Murray and Michel. See, Fortenberry v. ODECO, Inc., 607 So.2d 950, 957 (La.App. 4th Cir.1992), (wife's claim for loss of consortium is not recognized under Jones Act or general maritime law); Dickey v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration, 598 So.2d 1259 (La. App. 4th Cir.1992), (children of injured seaman have no cause of action for loss of society under the general maritime law).
Mrs. Trahan also relies on American Export Lines, Inc. v. Alvez, 446 U.S. 274, 100 S.Ct. 1673, 64 L.Ed.2d 284 (1980) to support her position. The Alvez case did recognize a cause of action under general maritime law for the recovery of loss of society damages by the spouse of a longshoreman injured aboard a vessel in state territorial waters. However, the court in Alvez relied on Sea-Land Services, Inc. v. Gaudet, 414 U.S. 573, 94 S.Ct. 806, 39 L.Ed.2d 9 (1974) and Miles specifically limited Gaudet to its facts. The Miles court found the "holding of Gaudet applies only in territorial waters, and it applies only to longshoremen." Miles, 498 U.S. at 31, 111 S.Ct. at 325. Alvez, which merely extends Gaudet to personal injury actions, is likewise limited by the decision in Miles. Murray, supra at 130.
For these reasons, we find both Alvez and Rebstock unsupportive of appellant's arguments. Based on the holding in Miles and its progeny, as well as the Phillips case from this court, which we are bound to follow, we conclude that the spouse of an injured seaman has no cause of action for loss of consortium against a non-employer third party defendant under federal general maritime law. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
AFFIRMED.
WALTZER, J., concurs with reason.