Kevin T. Dowling v. American Hawaii Cruises, Inc.

Appellant Kevin T. Dowling sued Appel-lee American Hawaii Cruises, Inc. (“AHC”), under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C. § 688 , and general maritime law, for injuries he suffered while working aboard AHC’s ship the S.S. Independence. The case went to a jury, which found against Dowling on the grounds that AHC was not negligent and that the S.S. Independence was seaworthy. Dowling claims that the district court erred both by finding that the minutes of meetings of the ship’s safety committee were privileged and therefore immune from discovery, and by applying the wrong standard for seaworthiness in deciding Dowling’s motion for a new trial. The district court had jurisdiction over Dowling’s claims under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1333. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Because we hold that the district court erred in concluding that the safety committee minutes were immune from discovery, and therefore grant Dowling a new trial, we need not consider whether the district court properly defined the law of seaworthiness in denying Dowl-ing’s motion for a new trial.

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FACTS

Dowling was First Mate aboard the S.S. Independence, a cruise ship that makes voyages around the Hawaiian…