Carlton H. Freeman v. Chevron Oil Company, Defendant-Third Party Herb's Welding, Inc., Intervenor, the North West Insurance Company, Third-Party

AINSWORTH, Circuit Judge:

The question for decision is whether the district court erred in granting defendant’s motion for judgment n. o. v. by its ruling that defendant was the “statutory employer” of plaintiff under LSA-R.S. 23:1061 1 and consequently that plaintiff’s exclusive remedy in his suit for damages for personal injuries, was under the Louisiana Workmen’s Compensation Statute, thereby overturning a jury verdict of $26,700 in damages in favor of plaintiff.

This suit arises out of an accident which occurred on June 26, 1972, on a fixed drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, 2.9 miles…