Opinion ID: 702303
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Place of Employment Contract

Text: 237 The district court made a factual finding that the oral employment contract entered into between Club Med and Neely, by virtue of a phone call from Club Med's offices in New York to Neely's residence in Pennsylvania, was situated in Pennsylvania. Neely, 1992 WL 398378, at  4. Defendants do not challenge the district court's finding as clearly erroneous, but instead argue that the factor should be given diminished weight since the employment services were to be performed outside the United States. The Supreme Court in Lauritzen has explained that, [t]he place of contracting in this instance, as is usual to such contracts, was fortuitous.... We do not think the place of contract is a substantial influence in the choice between competing laws to govern a maritime tort. Lauritzen, 345 U.S. at 588-89, 73 S.Ct. at 931-32. 238 The majority maintains, notwithstanding the language in Lauritzen, the place of contract takes on heightened significance in the context of non-traditional maritime employment. While I agree that the situation at hand is not the same type of employment arrangement contemplated by the Court in Lauritzen, I do so for different reasons. 239 Because I do not consider Neely's employment situation to be non-traditional in nature, I do not believe that this factor should be accorded additional significance, but rather, it should be treated with the same weight as the other factors. I acknowledge that there is less fortuity in the place of contracting here simply because hiring Neely was not an unforeseen contingency like that alluded to in Lauritzen. However, the vessel on which Neely worked was akin to an ocean-going vessel, thus putting her in the realm of traditional maritime activity. See discussion supra part II.1. Additionally, Neely was paid in a similar manner to the traditional ocean-travelling maritime worker--room and board provided by the employer. 240