Opinion ID: 497009
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Minimum Wage for Life

Text: 51 Before his death, Danny Self did not typically work on a dredge year round (presumably because of the seasonal nature of the work). In addition to the dredge work, the district court assume[d] Mr. Self would also work 790 hours per year ... at a job earning minimum wage. 613 F.Supp. at 1438. On appeal, Self contends that the district court erred by making this assumption, arguing that the assumption was not a finding of fact, and that if it was, it is clearly erroneous. 52 In reviewing the district court's opinion, it is not clear whether this assumption was a finding, and thus it is unclear whether the assumption deserves the deference normally accorded to findings of fact. For purposes of this decision, we will assume that the assumption is a finding of fact. Having searched the record on appeal, however, we can find no evidence to support the assumption, and we thus determine that, based on the current record, it is clearly erroneous. The trial judge apparently drew the assumption from an assumption made by Great Lakes' expert. See supra note 12. Yet, as the expert admitted, his assumption did not take into account any experience or skills that Self would acquire in his dredging work, notwithstanding the fact that the district court found that Self would advance to the position of mate and then leverman on the dredge. By adopting the expert's assumption, the district court essentially held that a leverman (who is second only to the captain of a dredge) would hold only semi-skilled jobs during the off-months, for the remainder of his career. The assumption also ignores the uncontradicted evidence that prior to his death Self had worked in the construction field during at least one of the non-dredge periods, and that the wages in the construction field were typically higher than minimum wage. Based on the record, we thus hold that the district court's assumption is clearly erroneous. 53 On remand, the trial court may decide to require more evidence as to Self's non-dredge work. We do not reject the possibility that based on further evidence the trial court will conclude that Self would only earn the minimum wage for at least a portion of his career. We only hold that based on the record as it now stands, there is no support for the trial court's assumption that Self would never have earned more than the minimum wage during the periods he was not working on a dredge. 8 D. Reduction of Future Wages to Present Value 54 Self challenges on appeal the method used by the district court to calculate the present value of its award of future earnings. As Great Lakes concedes in their brief on appeal, the district court used the case-by-case method that was specifically rejected by the en banc court of the former Fifth Circuit in Culver v. Slater Boat Co., 722 F.2d 114, 120 (5th Cir.1983) (en banc). 9 Culver required that courts in this circuit use the below-market discount method to adjust awards of future damages to present value. The district court's mistake is largely due to its reliance on Great Lakes' expert, who used the incorrect method. 55 In this appeal, Great Lakes argues that the error was harmless. Its expert used a 10.75% discount rate, which is substantially higher than the 1%-3% rate approved in Culver. Because their expert allowed for inflation in the initial calculations (contrary to the approach used in Culver ), Great Lakes argues that the effective discount rate is only marginally higher than the 3% rate approved in Culver. Thus, according to Great Lakes, the use of the improper method was harmless. 56 For two reasons, we decline to reach the question of whether the use of the discredited case-by-case method can ever be harmless. First, the Great Lakes expert applied the too-high discount rate to all future damages, including those not adjusted upward for inflation. Thus, at least for certain portions of the damages award, the effective discount rate was substantially higher than is proper. Second, in light of our remand above for a reassessment of the use of the minimum wage for Danny Self's entire life, it is likely that the entire damages figure will need to be recalculated. On remand, the district court should use the below-market discount method described in Culver and Deakle v. John E. Graham & Sons, 756 F.2d 832 (11th Cir.1985). E. Damage for Loss of Society 57 The district court awarded to Mrs. Self $70,000 for the loss of society, love, and companionship of her deceased husband, and the court awarded $15,000 to each of Danny Self's two children. On appeal, Mrs. Self argues that these awards are grossly inadequate. Self cites numerous cases where $200,000 to $500,000 was awarded for loss of society. Great Lakes, on the other hand, cites cases where $25,000 to $75,000 was awarded for loss of society. 58 In reviewing the amount of damage awards, this court is generally limited to the question of whether the trier of fact abused its discretion. See Hawkes v. Ayers, 537 F.2d 836, 837 (5th Cir.1976). While the district court did not describe how it determined the amount of the awards for loss of society, we do not find any abuse of discretion in the amount. Although the award was small, it was not 'unconscionably inadequate,' therefore, we may not disturb the award on appeal. Kramer v. Keys, 643 F.2d 382, 386 (5th Cir. Unit A Apr. 1981) (citation omitted). We thus affirm the district court's award of damages for loss of society. 10