Background

• Roberts injured on NGSS shipyard project; he worked as itinerant electrician assigned via Ameri-Force to NGSS.
• Ameri-Force and NGSS contract positioned Ameri-Force as independent contractor; Roberts’ supervision came from NGSS, not Ameri-Force.
• Roberts received Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act benefits through Ameri-Force.
• LHWCA exclusivity potentially bars negligence suit if Roberts is a borrowed employee.
• Trial court granted summary judgment in NGSS’s favor; the issue on appeal is whether Roberts was a borrowed employee under Ruiz v. Shell Oil Co.
• Court conducted de novo review of Ruiz factors and adopted trial judge’s findings to conclude borrowed servant status.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Ruiz v. Shell Oil Co., 413 F.2d 310 (5th Cir.1969) (exclusivity under LHWCA if borrowing employer exists)
• Gaudet v. Exxon Corp., 562 F.2d 351 (5th Cir.1977) (emphasizes factors 4–7 in LHWCA borrowed servant context)
• West v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 765 F.2d 526 (5th Cir.1985) (fact pattern where contract terms do not automatically defeat borrowed status)
• Alday v. Patterson Truck Line, Inc., 750 F.2d 375 (5th Cir.1985) (contractual provisions alone do not foreclose borrowed status if other factors support it)
• Brown v. Union Oil Co. of Cal., 984 F.2d 674 (5th Cir.1993) (support for considering factors indicating borrowed status)
• Melancon v. Amoco Prod. Co., 834 F.2d 1238 (5th Cir.1988) (illustrates treatment of contract and control in Ruiz analysis)
• Capps v. N.L. Baroid-NL Indus., Inc., 784 F.2d 615 (5th Cir.1986) (battery of factors weighing on borrowed status; payment arrangement considered)