Maritime law.

• Author: Moore, John I.
• Position: The latest developments of interest to defense counsel

THERE appears to be no end to the cases that raise the issue of whether riverboats used for gaming only and that move very little are in the realm of maritime law.

In Ketzel v. Mississippi Riverboat Amusement Ltd.(19) the plaintiff, a cocktail waitress employed on the Biloxi Belle, a floating casino, was injured when she tripped on a garbage can lid. Ketzel contended she was a seaman and that the Biloxi Belle was a "vessel" under the Jones Act.

The facts showed that the Biloxi Belle was constructed without propulsion engines, rudders, running or anchor lights, or navigational equipment. She was moored by "dolphins" driven into the ground against which she was secured by steel cables. Most of the Biloxi Belle's utilities were obtained from permanent shore connections.

In opposing summary judgment, the plaintiff argued that the Biloxi Belle was floating, was capable of navigation and had previously been towed to safer waters in 1992 during Hurricane Andrew. In response, the federal district court said:

The mere fact that a structure is floating or "capab[le] of movement across navigational waters" does not grant "vessel" status. See Michel v. Total Transp. Inc. 957 F.2d 186, 189 (5th Cir. 1992); Bernard v. Binnings Constr. Co., 741 F.2d 824, 828 n. 13, 829 (5th Cir. 1984); Blanchard v. Engine & Gas Compressor Servs. Inc., 575 F.2d 1140, 1143 (5th Cir. 1978). A structure, by virtue of its flotation, is therefore not exposed to the hazards of the sea sufficient to grant "seaman" status. Id.; see Unisea, 975 F.2d at 660-61. That a floating structure may be moved periodically because of the dangers of inclement weather is not sufficient to convert its status to a vessel. See Evansville & Bowling Green Packet Co. v. Chero Cola Bottling Co., 271 U.S. 19....(20)

The plaintiff also argued without success that the Supreme Court in Southwest Marine Inc. v. Gizoni(21) had rendered the status of the Biloxi Belle a fact question for the jury. The court held that Gizoni did not change the standard of McDermott International Inc. v. Wilander(22) that summary judgment is warranted when "the facts and the law will reasonably support only one conclusion."

The plaintiff also pointed out that the Biloxi Belle was registered with the Coast Guard, had bilge pumps, dining quarters and an employee break room. It was built like a vessel, looked like a vessel, and was named like a...