Ricardo N., Inc. v. Turcios De Argueta

With no word of explanation, Juan Luis Argueta, a seaman on the shrimping vessel, the Betty N, jumped overboard in the middle of the night in high seas about eighty miles off the Texas coast. His disappearance and presumed death make it impossible to ascertain his motives, but there are indications that he acted out of distress over rumors of his wife’s infidelity. She, Maria Margarita Turcios de Argueta, on behalf of herself, Argueta’s estate and his four minor children, sued the Betty N and its owner, Ricardo N., Inc., alleging negligence under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.CApp. § 688 (1988), and…