McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C.

768 F.3d 382, 2014 AMC 2409 (2014)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
M
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

McBride v. Estis Well Service, L.L.C.

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
768 F.3d 382, 2014 AMC 2409 (2014)

CS

Facts

Skye Sonnier, Saul Touchet, Brian Suire, and Joshua Bourque (the crewmen) (plaintiffs) were working on a barge owned by Estis Well Service, L.L.C. (Estis) (defendant). The barge was supporting a truck-mounted drilling rig operating in a bayou in Louisiana. The truck tipped over, killing Sonnier and injuring the other crewmen. Haleigh McBride (plaintiff), Sonnier’s administratrix, joined with the other crewmen in suing Estis for negligence under the Jones Act and unseaworthiness under general maritime law and requesting compensatory and punitive damages. Estis moved to dismiss the claim for punitive damages as unavailable under either cause of action. The district court granted the motion and dismissed all claims for punitive damages. McBride and the crewmen filed an interlocutory appeal. A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that punitive damages were available under the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Atlantic Sounding Co., Inc. v. Townsend. The court of appeals granted a rehearing en banc.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Davis, J.)

Dissent (Higginson, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 805,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 805,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Admiralty

Key Terms