Don W. Kathriner v. Unisea, Inc., a Washington Corporation

Appellant, Kathriner, brought an action under the Jones Act against appellee, Uni-sea, for injuries sustained while working aboard a floating fish processing plant. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Unisea on the ground that recovery under the Jones Act, 46 U.S.C.App. § 688, was precluded because the fish processing plant was not a vessel in navigation. The district court also denied Kathriner’s motion to amend his complaint to allege a cause of action under the Longshoremen’s and Harbor Worker’s Compensation Act, 33 U.S.C. § 901 et seq., on the ground that the floating fish processing plant was not a vessel for purposes of the LHWCA. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1333 (1), and we have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I.

On March 14, 1989, while working for Unisea, Inc., Kathriner was seriously injured aboard the floating fish processing plant known as the UNISEA. Kathriner lived and worked aboard the UNISEA. He was injured when he fell off a metal stand while performing his duties as a processing worker.

The UNISEA is a former liberty ship that was converted into a fish processing plant. It has a raked…