Cain v. Transocean Offshore USA, Inc.

KING, Circuit Judge:

This case requires us to consider the continued viability of our longstanding precedent holding that a watercraft under construction is not a “vessel in navigation” for purposes of the Jones Act. We hold that the Supreme Court’s decision in Stewart v. Dutra Construction Company, 543 U.S. 481, 125 S.Ct. 1118, 160 L.Ed.2d 932 (2005), has not effectively overruled that precedent because the decision did not concern or address the point at which a vessel-to-be actually becomes a vessel. We therefore REVERSE the district court’s denial of summary judgment and REMAND for further…