H. Azzopardi, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Paul Azzopardi, Deceased v. Ocean Drilling & Exploration Co.

W. EUGENE DAVIS, Circuit Judge:

I

In October 1977, Paul Azzopardi, a British citizen, was killed while working as a diver off the Zephyr I, a semi-submersible *892drilling rig located in the English Channel. In June 1979, Azzopardi’s father brought this suit against Ocean Drilling and Exploration Company (ODECO), a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Louisiana, in the 215th Judicial District Court for Harris County, Texas. Azzopardi’s suit for damages arising out of his son’s death alleged causes of action under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. §§ 688 et seq., the Death on the High…