Herman J. Smith and Shirley B. Smith v. Nicklos Drilling Company and Compass Insurance Company, Defendants

GEE, Circuit Judge:

Once again we address one of our Court’s prime recurring issues: has a particular injured worker been permanently assigned to or performed a substantial part of his work on a vessel so as to qualify to sue as a seaman under the Jones Act? Fashioning a bright line rule has troubled our court, see Barrett v. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc., 781 F.2d 1067 (5th Cir.1986), but the facts presented here do not approach the lenient line that we have drawn. We therefore affirm summary judgment for the defendant.

Facts

Appellant Herman Smith worked for several years as a mechanic for Nicklos…