HOUSTON – A deckhand claiming that an engineer and not him should been pouring oil into a generator recently had his lawsuit tossed by the 14th Court of Appeals.
Court records show Joseph Moore, a Louisiana resident, filed a Jones Act suit against Alpine Ocean Seismic Survey in Galveston County.
Back in October 2016, Moore allegedly injured his back while working as a deckhand aboard an Alpine research vessel in Maryland. He was attempting to fill a starboard generator with oil when the injury occurred.
Moore argued that the vessel did not have an engineer, and therefore crewmembers like him had to perform tasks traditionally performed by engineers.
Court records show Alpine filed a special appearance, which was denied by the trial court without stating a reason for the ruling.
On June 8, the 14th Court found the jurisdictional evidence does not support the trial court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over Alpine.
“[W]e reverse the trial court’s interlocutory order denying Alpine’s special appearance and render the judgment the trial court should have rendered, a dismissal of Moore’s claims against Alpine for want of personal jurisdiction,” the opinion states.
Moore is represented in part by attorney Kurt Arnold of Arnold & Itkin in Houston.
Appeals case No. 14-19-00499-CV