Wyatt v. Penrod Drilling Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
735 F.2d 951 (1984)
- Written by Daniel Clark, JD
Facts
Paul Wyatt (plaintiff) brought a maritime personal-injury action against Penrod Drilling Company (Penrod) (defendant), the owner of the drilling rig on which Wyatt worked. Wyatt sued in federal district court, claiming both diversity jurisdiction and admiralty jurisdiction. Wyatt made a claim in admiralty for unseaworthiness and a claim of negligence under the Jones Act. The elements of the two claims were identical. None of Wyatt’s charges were based in state law. At trial, the jury found Penrod liable to Wyatt under both theories and awarded damages. Wyatt then filed a motion to be awarded prejudgment interest, which the district court denied. Wyatt appealed the denial of this motion.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Jolly, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 806,000 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.