Opinion ID: 561821
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The function and role of the parties.

Text: 21 In Harville, the court stated that the proper question in examining the function and role of the parties is whether the actual tasks the workers perform bear any inherent relationship to maritime activity, that is, whether the plaintiff's jobs are identical to those undertaken by land-based workers and are connected to maritime affairs merely because performed aboard a ship. Harville, at 784. The court in Harville found that the plaintiff's role and functions, although related to maritime commerce, did not call for the application of maritime jurisdiction. Unlike the plaintiffs in Harville, however, Cochran's job involved tasks that are traditionally performed by seamen. Cochran was a full-time sailor with many duties, one of which was maintaining the ship's deck which allowed storage of aircraft during voyages. Consequently, Cochran's maintenance work allowed the ship to perform as an aircraft carrier. 22 Additionally, the district court found that at least one of the companies, American Abrasive, designed, marketed, and advertised its products specifically for naval use aboard aircraft carriers. Although this factor is not dispositive of the function and roles of the parties' inquiry, it buttresses Cochran's argument for admiralty jurisdiction. 23