Lead Opinion
This case presents numerous questions arising from a seaman’s suit against his employer to recover damages for an injury allegedly .sustained while aboard the employer’s vessel. Following a jury trial, the seaman was awarded damages. The employer appeals, contending that the jury erred when it found that the seaman had not willfully concealed his prior back injuries, and that the employer had been unreasonable in withholding maintenance and cure benefits.
. I. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
Rickey Brown injured his back in August 1998 while lifting a sack of corn. Brown was treated at an emergency room and issued a wheelchair and walker. Brown told his treating physician, Dr. Walter Johnston, that he heard a “pop” in his back during the accident.
Ten months later, on June 29, 1999, Brown applied to work as a seaman for LeTourneau, Inc. As part of the application process, Brown filled out LeTour-
On August 15, 2000, two months after being fired by LeTourneau, Brown applied to work as a floorhand for Parker Drilling Offshore Corp. (“Parker”). On Parker’s medical questionnaire, Brown checked “No” when asked whether he had “Past or Present Back and Neck Trouble.”
On April 20, 2001, Brown reported to his superior, Tommy Harter (“Harter”), that he felt back pain while pulling slips out of the master bushings of the rotary table aboard the Parker rig. Harter sent Brown off the rig floor to complete an accident report. Brown later explained that the master bushings came up and then popped back down, causing the slip he was holding, which was attached to the master bushings in the rotary table, to suddenly jerk him. During its accident investigation, Parker came to believe that Brown’s back injury was not sustained aboard the vessel, and that Brown had willfully concealed his prior back injuries. Based upon these beliefs, Parker withheld payment of Brown’s maintenance and cure benefits.
Brown sued Parker for (1) negligence under the Jones Act, (2) unseaworthiness under general maritime law, (3) retaliatory discharge, (4) maintenance and cure benefits, and (5) compensatory damages resulting from Parker’s failure to pay such benefits. Parker countered that Brown was not entitled to maintenance and cure on the ground that he willfully concealed his past back injuries, and that Brown was not entitled to compensatory damages because Parker withheld benefit payments in reliance upon a reasonable defense. The jury ultimately returned a verdict finding for Brown in part.
By Order and Reasons dated July 30, 2003, the district court denied Parker’s motion for judgment as a matter of law and, alternatively, for a new trial.
Parker timely appeals, contending that Brown willfully concealed his medical con
II. STANDARD OF REVIEW
This Court reviews factual findings of a jury for clear error. In re Gerhardt,
III. DISCUSSION
A. The jury clearly erred when it found that Brown had not willfully concealed his medical condition.
Parker contends that the jury committed clear error by finding that Brown had not willfully concealed his prior back injuries when he completed Parker’s medical questionnaire. A Jones Act employer is entitled to investigate a seaman’s claim for maintenance and cure benefits. McWilliams v. Texaco, Inc.,
(1) the claimant intentionally misrepresented or concealed medical facts;
(2) the non-disclosed facts were material to the employer’s decision to hire the claimant; and
(3) a connection exists between the withheld information and the injury complained of in the lawsuit.
Id.; Deisler v. McCormack Aggregates, Co.,
(1) Intent to conceal
Parker’s medical questionnaire asked whether Brown had suffered “Past or Present Back and Neck Trouble.” Brown answered this question in the negative. Parker contends that this response constitutes an intentional concealment of a medical condition because Brown: (1) had been treated for back injuries on two occasions prior to the time he completed Parker’s medical questionnaire; (2) had been fired from LeTourneau for falsely reporting an on-the-job accident, filing a false accident claim, and denying that he had suffered from prior “Back Trouble” on Le-Tourneau’s employment medical questionnaire; and (3) misstated during his deposition that he had not sought medical care while working at LeTourneau. These facts — which tend to show that Brown had sustained back injuries prior to completing Parker’s medical questionnaire, that Brown knew at the time he completed the questionnaire that these injuries constituted “back trouble” in the eyes of a past employer, and that Brown habitually lied about his prior injuries — were established by Parker at trial. The jury nonetheless found that Brown had not intended to conceal his medical condition from Parker.
Brown now offers two explanations for the jury’s finding that he did not intentionally conceal his medical condition. First, he alleges that the question at issue on the Parker medical questionnaire is compound. Second, he argues that he did not understand the definition of “trouble.” Both arguments fail.
As stated supra, the question at issue on Parker’s medical questionnaire asked whether Brown had “Past or Present Back and Neck Trouble” (emphasis added). Brown points out that this question is compound, and argues that a prospective employee could answer it in the affirmative only if he had suffered frqm both back and neck trouble.
b. Brown did not know his injuries constituted “trouble”
To further support his claim that he did not intend to conceal his medical condition from Parker, Brown alleges that he did not understand that his back injuries constituted back “trouble.” He states that he instead interpreted “trouble” to indicate serious injuries such as a broken disc or neck.
When questioned at trial about his appointments with Dr. Johnston that preceded his employment with Parker, Brown explained that he had been treated for a “sore back” and a “pulled muscle”:
Q. Were you having any type of back trouble when you filled out the Parker Application?
A. I just had that pulled muscle, you know. They scanned me about that right now, so I guess I had to say I had a back pulled muscle. It’s back troubles, they said.
Q. What did you think when you read on the application “Had you ever had back trouble,” what came to your mind?
A. . Disc and all of that, you know, broke back, a disc, neck being broke or something, the injury is a real one instead of a pulled muscle.
Trial Tr. at 109 (emphasis added).
Brown acknowledged on cross-examination, however, that he had been fired from his job at LeTourneau “for [his] back trouble.”
Q. Why were you fired from LeTour-neau?
A. For my back trouble.
Id. at 118 (emphasis added).
- This admission seems to demonstrate that Brown recognized, only two months before he completed the Parker medical questionnaire, that his minor injuries, i.e., pulled muscles and back strains, rose to the level of “back trouble” in the, eyes of a past. employer. Nonetheless, the district court observed that Brown was “a former special education student who exhibited a non-confrontational demeanor at trial [and]
Brown’s understanding of his prior injury as “trouble,” however, seems to have been established by the circumstances surrounding his termination from LeTour-neau. Brown was fired for answering “No” on LeTourneau’s medical questionnaire when asked whether he had suffered from “back trouble.” At trial, Brown testified to the following:
Q. And I believe that you had testified earlier that the reason they, at Le-Tourneau, got rid of you, didn’t want you to work there anymore, is because LeTourneau found out about your past; they found out about your lying on the application, or whatever, is that right?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And the reason LeTourneau, Mr. Fant at LeTourneau came to you and'said “Hey, we can’t have you working here,” is because he showed you the- employment application where you checked off “No,” about prior back problems, ’ right?
A. Yeah.
Q. .And he said “I can’t have anybody working here like that who misrepresents the application,” right? He told you that?
A. Yes.
Id. at 115-16. Such testimony shows that Brown knew he had been fired from Le-Tourneau for denying that he had “back trouble.” This renders implausible Brown’s explanation that, two months later, he did not understand the definition of “trouble” on Parker’s medical questionnaire.
It is clear 'that Brown suffered previous back injuries and that he was fired from a previous job for not disclosing his “back trouble.”
(2) Materiality and causality
The other two elements of the “willful concealment” inquiry, i.e., materiality and causality, were clearly established at trial. The fact .that an employer asks a specific medical question, on an application, and that the inquiry is rationally related to the applicant’s physical ability to perform his job duties, renders the information material for the purpose of this analysis. See McCorpen,
Further, Parker demonstrated that a nexus existed between Brown’s preexisting-injury and his injury supporting this lawsuit. The requisite causal link is established if the preexisting injury and the new injury are located in the same part of the
Parker established at trial: (1) Brown’s intent to conceal his medical condition; (2) that the non-disclosed facts were material to the employer’s decision to hire the claimant; and (3) a connection existed between the withheld information and the injury complained of in the lawsuit. As a result, the judgment of the district court that Brown is entitled to maintenance and cure benefits should be reversed.
B. The jury clearly erred when it found that Parker’s withholding of maintenance and cure benefits had been unreasonable.
Parker contends that the jury clearly erred by finding that Brown acted unreasonably in withholding Brown’s maintenance and cure benefits. This Court has recognized that
there is an escalating scale of liability: a shipowner who is in fact liable for maintenance and cure, but who has been reasonable in denying liability, may be held liable only for the amount of maintenance and cure. If the shipowner has refused to pay without a reasonable defense, he becomes liable in addition for compensatory damages. If the shipowner not only lacks a reasonable defense but has exhibited callousness and indifference to the seaman’s plight, he becomes liable for punitive damages and attorney’s fees as well.
Morales v. Garijak, Inc.,
Parker offers two explanations for its failure to pay maintenance and cure: (1) Brown willfully concealed his prior medical condition, and (2) Brown’s injury was not sustained on Parker’s vessel. The question before us is whether the jury clearly erred by finding that Parker’s reliance on these explanations was unreasonable.
We hold that the jury erred in finding that it was unreasonable for Parker to withhold benefits because Parker’s refusal was based on a reasonable defense: that Brown had willfully concealed his medical condition. The jury could not rationally have determined that Parker was unreasonable in relying on this defense, so their finding constitutes clear error. Accordingly, we need not reach Parker’s second explanation for withholding benefits.
IV. CONCLUSION
Because we conclude that the jury’s finding that Brown did not willfully conceal
Notes
. The employer also argues that the district court improperly instructed the jury about special damages, and that the seaman improperly invoked the Golden Rule during closing arguments. Because we agree with the first two arguments, however, we need not reach these issues.
. The form stated above Brown's signature: FAILURE TO ANSWER TRUTHFULLY MAY RESULT IN THE FORFEITURE OF WORKER'S COMP BENEFITS. I have read the above statements and the answers to the above questions and I certify them to be true and correct.
. The jury, however, agreed with Parker on the claims of unseaworthiness and retaliatory discharge.
. The jury found that, due to Brown’s contributory negligence, Parker was only 75% liable for Brown’s injuries.
. The district court, however, did grant Parker's motion for remittitur, reducing the jury's award for future medical expenses from $150,000 to $100,000.
. While the question is compound, the manner in which it is set forth on the questionnaire, and Brown's responses, belie Brown’s assertion that he treated it as a compound question. The questionnaire asks: "Have you had or do you now have any of the following? If so, what and when?”' It then lists a variety of conditions, and a space to check “Y” or "N”. The item at issue in this case occupies two lines on the questionnaire. The first line reads: "Past or Present Back and”; the second line reads: "Neck Trouble”. Brown checked the “N” box for each line. App. to Appellant's Br. at Tab 3.
. Parker points out that Brown did not even seek attorney's fees, and thus "Parker's actions were not attacked as arbitrary and capricious by Brown.” This fact, while true, is irrelevant to the issue before this Court. Compensatory damages do not turn upon the employer's arbitrariness and capriciousness, but rather upon the employer’s unreasonableness. See Morales,
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting:
Following a three-day jury trial in this hotly contested maintenance and cure lawsuit, the jury deliberated for five hours over all the competing claims of the parties and then returned a verdict in favor of Brown in the amount of $150,000. Having remitted the verdict to $100,000, the trial court fully discussed the facts and law pertaining to Parker’s post-trial motions and then denied them. Despite this context, the panel majority sifts through the evidence, essentially declares Brovm to be unworthy of belief by the jury, and then substitutes its appellate judgment for that of the jury. The majority discards the plaintiffs verdict and summarily renders a substitute verdict for Parker, the employer. Because I decline to participate in the majority’s usurpation of the jury’s function, I respectfully dissent.
The majority anchors its analysis on McCorpen v. Central Gulf Steamship Corp.,
On appeal, Parker contests the district court’s rulings on its post-judgment motion for judgment as a matter of law, or in the alternative, motion for new trial, or for remittitur. The panel majority’s reversal of the jury’s verdict here is tantamount to a judgment as matter of law, pursuant to Rule 50(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. “A motion for judgment as a matter of law ... in an action tried by jury is [, in essence,] a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s verdict.” Hiltgen v. Sumrall,
[a] jury may draw reasonable inferences from the evidence, and those inferences may constitute sufficient proof to support a verdict. .
*627 On appeal, we are bound to view the evidence and all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the jury’s determination. Even though we might have reached a different conclusion if we had been the trier of fact, we are not free to reweigh the evidence or to reevaluate credibility of witnesses. We must not substitute for the jury’s reasonable factual inferences other inferences that we may regard as more reasonable.
Rideau v. Parkem Indus. Services, Inc.,
Despite the fact that a seaman’s right to maintenance and cure is “very broad” and “rarely withheld,” see, e.g., Wactor v. Spartan Trans. Corp.,
Contrary to the defendant’s characterization of the plaintiffs testimony, whether or not the plaintiff intended, [sic] to misrepresent or conceal material medical facts was a hotly disputed question of fact at trial. The plaintiff stated that because of the minor nature of the muscle pulls he had experienced in the past, he did not consider any prior back strains or muscle pulls to be “back injuries” when confronted with the question on the Parker employment application. He denied “intentionally concealing” any material medical information. It is apparent that the jury gave credence to his explanation and it rejected Parker’s McCorpen defense.
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, the Court also finds that the plaintiff did offer substantial evidence supporting his Jones Act and maintenance and cure claims. Brown was, in fact, employed as a Jones Act seaman on the day of the accident on Parker’s drilling vessel. Plaintiff testified that he was engaged in pulling slips on the rig floor when the slips stuck in' the master bushing, causing them to rise from the drill floor and then suddenly drop, abruptly jerking the plaintiff and causing injury to his back. He reported the accident in a timely manner and he was placed on light duty.
Other evidence was presented which corroborates plaintiffs claim. There was testimony that the master bushing should have been greased to prevent it from sticking, that plaintiff had never actually been instructed to grease the master bushing, that under normal circumstances the master bushing should not rise from the drill floor, that Brown was an excellent employee during the six months prior to the accident that he worked for Parker, and that Brown had never exhibited back pain or a back injury prior to the accident. Plaintiffs drilling procedures expert, Mr. Kubelka, testified that the plaintiff was not prop*629 erly trained and that the equipment in use on the Parker rig was not functioning properly. In addition, there was uncontradicted medical evidence that plaintiff does have a herniated disc in his lumbar region.
Parker’s entire argument in favor of its motion for judgment as a matter of law is based upon its interpretation of the evidence in the light most favorable to its case, relying almost exclusively on its own credibility determinations. As noted above, however, in deciding a motion for judgment as a matter of law, the district court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, and it may not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence .... “[I]t is the function of the jury as the traditional finder of facts, not the Court, to weigh conflicting evidence and inferences, and determine the credibility of witnesses.” Delano-Pyle v. Victoria County, Texas,302 F.3d 567 , 572 (5th Cir.2002), quoting MacArthur v. Univ. of Tex. Health Ctr. at Tyler,45 F.3d 890 , 896 (5th Cir.1995) (citation omitted). As noted, the district court’s task is to determine if the facts and inferences point so strongly and overwhelmingly in favor of the moving party that reasonable men could not arrive at a contrary verdict, disregarding evidence favorable to the moving party that the jury is not required to believe. Id. (sic) Applying this stringent standard, the Court finds that the defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law is without merit.
With respect to the defendant’s motion for a new trial on the Jones Act negligence and entitlement to maintenance and cure claims, for reasons previously stated, the motion is without-merit.
This recitation by the trial judge alone is sufficient to demonstrate there was a lawful evidentiary basis for the district court to reasonably uphold the jury’s verdict. Accordingly, our court is required to remain “mindful that, in light of the seventh amendment guarantee of the right to jury trial, ... [this court has a duty to] proceed cautiously, and ... [should] validate the jury verdict if at all possible.” Gaspard,
Notwithstanding the district court’s conclusion, my review of the record, taken in the light most favorable to Brown, also finds substantial evidence to permit a reasonable jury to reject Parker’s McCorpen defense. From the inception of opening statements to the final words of closing arguments, the salient facts of this case were fiercely debated. In opening statements, Brown’s trial counsel delineated a succinct time line of Brown’s first two injuries, leading up to the injury Brown alleges he sustained in the course of his employ at Parker: In 1998, Brown was treated in an emergency room in Vicksburg, Mississippi for what he claims was a pulled muscle resulting from the lifting of an ice chest filled with one hundred pounds of corn. At the time of the first injury, Brown was seventeen years old and still in high school. Brown’s x-rays were inconclusive as to whether he had a herniated disc. Still reeling from the pain, Brown visited his family physician, Dr. Johnston, five days later. In May of 1999, Brown graduated from high school. Brown testified that between the time of the first injury and the time of his second injury, he suffered no pain with his back. In August of 1999, Brown took a job with LeTourneau, Inc., a company at a shipyard that builds offshore drilling rigs. At Le-Tourneau, Brown was employed as a welder. Similar to what Brown would later
On August 17, 2000, Brown commenced his employment with Parker. The evidence reveals that prior to accepting Parker’s offer of employment, Brown was required to fill out an application containing a questionnaire of various inquires. One question, almost identical to LeTourneau’s application, inquired whether Brown had suffered or was suffering from “back problems.” Again, Brown did not list either the 1998 injury, or the injury he alleges he suffered at LeTourneau. Parker’s trial counsel peppered Brown on cross-examination; Brown never waivered from his story that he did not consider either of his prior injuries to be “back problems,” within the meaning of the employment applications. This evidence is only some of the record facts supporting a conclusion that the jury’s verdict was supported by a sufficient evidentiary basis.
As to the first requirement of the MeCorpen defense, i.e., whether Brown intentionally misrepresented or concealed medical facts, Brown and Parker, using the same time-line, both depicted contrasting stories of the events leading up to the injury Brown alleges he sustained in course of his employ with Parker. The jury accepted Brown’s version of events, and rejected Parker’s. This, record clearly demonstrates sufficient evidence, taken in the light most favorable to Brown, to reasonably support the jury’s verdict as to this requirement. Brown’s trial counsel presented his client as a young and
Indeed, before this court at oral argument Parker’s appellate 'counsel acknowledged that their trial counsel skillfully used demonstrative evidence to highlight for the jury the salient points of Brown’s testimony. Enlarged copies on “blow ups” were used to illuminate Brown’s inconsistent statements and show that Brown was a liar. The jury flatly rejected Parker’s version of the events. On the other hand, the jury was aware of Brown’s age, and heard evidence suggesting that Brown had a low level of sophistication. Brown also underwent a rigorous medical physical by Parker’s physician before he was allowed to work. Brown passed the physical examination according to Parker’s standards, and the results of the exam indicated that, at the time Brown commenced employment with Parker, Brown was in good physical health. It was also possible for the jury to reasonably conclude that Brown did not consider his prior injuries to be “back problems” within the meaning of his employers’ applications, thereby negating the notion that Brown intentionally concealed his prior injuries. Contrary to the majority’s declaration, the jury in this instance could have reasonably accepted Brown’s explanations for not listing his prior injuries on Parker’s employment application, mainly that he did not consider his prior back injuries to be “back problems.”
The third' McCorpen requirement, i.e., whether a connection existed between the withheld information and the injury complained of in the lawsuit, could also be fairly considered - by the jury. The jury heard experts from both sides vigorously debate the cause of Brown’s injury. Evidence was presented that x-rays of Brown’s first injury were inconclusive to indicate that Brown suffered a herniated disc. Dr. Johnston testified that when he treated Brown on the two prior occasions, he concluded that Brown had merely suffered a muscle pull. Evidence was also presented by Parker’s own expert neurosurgeons, Dr. Robert Mímeles and Dr. Robert Applebaum, which indicated that after the time Brown alleged he suffered the back injury during his employ with Parker, Brown in fact had a herniated disc. Moreover, there was no evidence presented to conclusively show that Brown sustained the herniated disc, prior to the incident at Parker. The jury was entitled to reasonably infer that the herniated disc resulted from the injury Brown sustained while working for Parker. The McCorpen defense requires a causal link; the jury in this case concluded that Parker did not establish that a connection existed between Brown’s withheld information and the injury Brown alleges he sustained working for Parker. _
The decisive factor in this case was one of credibility. Parker’s counsel more than sufficiently put the issue of Brown’s credibility before the jury. Again, the jury did not accept Parker’s characterization of-Brown as a liar. “Credibility is a question [properly left] for the jury.” Boyle,
Even more telling of the reasonableness of this jury’s decision is the fact that the full evidence was weighed-a second time-by the district court who, having the advantage of sitting through the entire flow of the evidence, prior to, during, and after the trial, also rejected Parker’s characterization of Brown. “When the district court denies a new trial, it ratifies the jury’s assessment of the case.... ” Eximco, Inc. v. Trane Co.,
In my view, by finding that the there was insufficient evidence to support this verdict, the majority has erroneously substituted its view of the facts for that of the fact finders. For all of the above stated reasons, I therefore respectfully dissent.
. Although the panel majority does hot elaborate on the historic nature of maintenance and cure, especially as it relates to the doctrine being favorable to seamen, there is no difference in its understanding of maintenance and cure and mine. ''Maintenance” and "cure” is a contractual form of compensation provided under general maritime law to seaman who become ill or injured while in the service of their ship. McCorpen,
"Thus, an owner of a vessel is almost automatically liable for the cost of medical treatment and basic living expenses when a seaman in its employ is injured.” Brister,