KERMIT FRANKLIN DEMENT, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE,
v.
TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY AND J. RAY MCDERMOTT & CO., INC., DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS

5th Cir. | 1973-01-10
No. 72-2520
471 F.2d 300 Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (1973)

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Holding

The court held that the trial court's jury instructions were accurate and thorough, and there was ample evidence to support the jury's verdict.


Facts & Procedural History

Plaintiff Kermit Dement sued for personal injuries under the Jones Act and general maritime law, alleging negligence and unseaworthiness. A jury award…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM:

PER CURIAM:

The plaintiff, Kermit Dement, brought an action for personal injuries against appellants in the district court under the Jones Act and the general maritime law. He alleged that his injuries were caused by the negligence of J. Ray McDermott & Company, Inc. and by the unseaworthiness of the vessel on which he was working at the time of his accident. Following the presentation of evidence, the case was submitted to the jury through special interrogatories. A verdict was returned in Dement’s favor and damages were awarded in the amount of $153,000.

Appellants contend that the trial court committed the following errors: (1) refused to grant a new trial or alternatively to grant defendant’s motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict; (2) refused to give a propei'ly requested charge to the jury concerning repairs and corrections of known unseaworthy conditions; (3) failed to charge the jury concerning a seaman’s assumptions of the hazards of his calling; (4) incorrectly instructed the jury on contributory negligence under the Jones Act. We affirm.

We have carefully reviewed the record in this case. We find that the trial court’s instructions to the jury did not suffer from the infirmities claimed. On the contrary, the record discloses quite clearly that the trial court was both accurate and thorough in explaining the governing legal principles to the jury. The challenges to these instructions border on the frivolous. Likewise without merit is the appellants’ contention that the trial court should have granted either a new trial or a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. There was more than ample evidence to support the jury’s verdict. In such circumstances, it is not within the province of this court to substitute its own assessment of the facts for that of the jury. Boeing Co. v. Shipman, 411 F. 2d 365 (5th Cir. 1969).

Judgment affirmed.


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