Bobby Joe Smith v. Massman Construction Company and Travelers Insurance Company

This appeal raises the question of whether the district court erred in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment holding that the structure on which plaintiff allegedly was injured was not a vessel for purposes of the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.A. § 688.

Appellant was working primarily as a welder on a structure known as a caisson when his alleged injury occurred. The caisson resembles a large topless steel box approximately 200 feet long, 84 feet wide, and 20 feet high. It had been pushed by two boats from Belle Chasse, Louisiana where it was built, to Luling, Louisiana where it was secured…