Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

395 U.S. 352, 89 S.Ct. 1835, 23 L.Ed.2d 360, 1969 AMC 1082 (1969)

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Rodrigue v. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co.

United States Supreme Court
395 U.S. 352, 89 S.Ct. 1835, 23 L.Ed.2d 360, 1969 AMC 1082 (1969)

CS

Facts

Joseph Dore and Butley Rodrigue were maritime workers who were killed in separate accidents at fixed offshore drilling platforms. Dore was killed when the crane he was working on collapsed, and Rodrigue was killed when he fell from a derrick high above the platform. The Dore and Rodrigue families (the families) (plaintiffs) brought wrongful-death actions in federal courts against various companies (the companies) (defendants). In both actions, the families sought damages under the Death on the High Seas Act and under Louisiana law through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). The district courts in both cases held that only the Death on the High Seas Act applied. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed those rulings. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in both cases, and the cases were argued together before the Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (White, J.)

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