Jack Arnold and Neal M. Demesia v. Shell Oil Company, Defendant-Third Party v. Liberty Welding and Iron Works, Inc., Third-Party

WISDOM, Circuit Judge.

In this diversity case the sole question on appeal is whether the work Liberty Welding and Iron Works, Inc. performed for Shell Oil Company on a heater treat-er was part of Shell’s “trade, business, or occupation” for purposes of coverage by the Louisiana Workmen’s Compensation Statute, L.R.S.A. § 23:1061. The district judge submitted this question to the jury. The jury found that the work was not part of Shell’s “trade, business or occupation”. We hold, as a matter of law, that the judgment must be reversed notwithstanding the jury’s verdict.

Shell hired Liberty to…